E 



H2 m 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



UNITED STATES OE AMERICA. 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 



■ ,1}*' OF 

WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 




By FRANK H. NORTON, 

EDITOR "the era," NE^^ YORK. ' C* 



NEW YORK : 
D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 

1, 3, & 5 BOND STREET. 
Copyright by D. APPLETON & CO., 1880. 






LIFE OF HANCOCK. 



PREFACE 



While it is impossible, iu the brief space of a pamphlet sketch, to do justice to such a sub- 
ject as the life of Major-General Hancock, it is hoped by the writer that the present effort 
will at least place him favorably before those who peruse it. 

Very slight examination of its pages -will show that, in each of the important stations 
which he has filled, General Hancock has — as a distinguished brother general has expressed it 
— improved upon his position. Meanwhile, he is in the prime of life and of his faculties, and 
it may well be that he shall yet give even more valuable service to his country than during the 
past of his most eventful career. 



PART I . 

THE BOY— THE CADET— THE SOLDIER. 



War, the most destructive, is also the most be- 
neficent of forces. It annihilates to recreate. It 
opens the way for new men and endows them with 
new powers. Besides soldiers, it brings poets, law- 
givers, and statesmen to the surface. It gave to 
America a Washington and a Lincoln ; and finall}', 
to its solemn influence we owe two men, bearing 
the same name, divided by a century of time, whose 
meaning and purpose in our history are best signi- 
fied by the two words — construction and reconstruc- 
tion. 

BIRTH AND ANCESTRY. 

Winfield Scott Hancock, the hero of this story, 
was born February 14 (St. Valentine's day), in the 
year 1824, in a small village of Montgomery Coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania, called Montgomery Square, twelve 
miles east of Non-istown, and between that village 
and Doylestown, the county seat of Bucks. Of the 
early ancestry of Hancock we know little. At- 
tempts are being made at present beyond the ocean 
to trace this to the earliest times. Back as far as 
the year 1400, the family is found, spelling its 
name variously, and occupying the position of mer- 
chant traders between Bristol, England, and vari- 
ous parts of Ireland. 

The connection between the Pennsylvania branch 
of the family and John Hancock, of Massachusetts 
Bay, is not defined. As the name is not, however, 
a common one, it is not unreasonable to suppose 
that some remote relationship united all branches 
of the family. But it is with the Pennsylvania 
branch that we have now to do, and before this nar- 
rative shall be concluded, it will perhaps be shown 
that our hero might well be esteemed the first of 



his family, by reason of the many noble qualifica- 
tions and estimable qualities he has displayed, and 
for the rounded perfection of a nature seldom equaled 
in excellence and majesty. Yet there was not want- 
ing opportunity for the inheritance of the character- 
istics which have gone to the making up of Gen- 
eral Hancock's character. 

His father, Benjamin F. Hancock, of Norris- 
town, was a teacher in high repute, who always 
interested himself in the progress of education ; 
later, a lawyer of standing and position, recognized 
as a man of much capacity and broad views; and 
at all times a gentleman of perfect integrity and 
high intelligence. 

The grandfather of General Hancock was a 
mariner who, when quite young, was with others 
captured at sea by the British, and for some time 
incarcerated in one of the English prisons. 

General Hancock's mother, Elizabeth Hawks- 
worth, was a prudent. Christian woman, whose fa- 
ther was a Revolutionary soldier, whose uncle was 
an officer in the War of 1812, and whose grandfather 
was a soldier in the old French and Indian War, 
and captain in the American patriotic army, who 
died in camp in 1777. 

Thus it will be seen that the stock was good, 
and the blood true blue. 

The section of country inhabited by the Han- 
cocks and the Hawksworths for more than a cen- 
tury, is not only one of the most beautiful parts of 
Pennsylvania, but it is a region teeming with his- 
toric memories. Here rolling hills and waving 
plains, stately mountains and smiling vales, gray 
cliffs and deep ravines, give a variety to the land- 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



scape — to which practical features are added in fer- 
tile fields, exhibiting the industrial results accom- 
plished by a laborious people. Thrifty inhabitants 
here dwell in beautiful, healthful, and happy home- 
steads, while the country around is not unf requently 
visited by tourists from distant States and other 
lands, drawn thither by the reputation of its natu- 
ral beauties. When is recalled, also, the historical 
interest existing on account of its memories of the 
fields of Brandywine, Paoli, White Horse, German- 
town, and Valley Forge, it will be seen that the 
associations amid which young Hancock was born, 
and where he spent his youthful days, were calcu- 
lated to do all that such associations can do in 
the way of forming a nature and supplying marked 
habits and characteristics. 

It may be observed here, that the early history 
of the Hancock family shows that in politics it was 
always attached to the anti-federal or Democratic 
party. Winfield's father viewed the Constitution 
of the United States under the strictest construc- 
tion, and it was under such tuition, and constantly 
impressed with confidence in the Democratic faith, 
that young Hancock was trained, and his political 
sentiments fostered. 

SCHOOL DATS. 

Winfield was one of twins, his twin brother be- 
ing Hilary B. Hancock, at present a lawyer in Min- 
neapolis, Minnesota. One other brother, John Han- 
cock, completed the family. Winfield grew from 
childhood to boyhood under home influences and 
home education. He was first put to school in a 
local academy, and later he entered the first public 
high school which was erected in that vicinity. As 
his father was a director of the school, it is prob- 
able that his early education was 'carefully consid- 
ered, but the boy was by no means a prodigy either 
of studiousness or learning. He grew to be a rug- 
ged, large-boned lad, fond of gymnastic exercises 
and wild sports, and achieved a reputation among 
his school fellows rather for whole-souled manliness 
and incorruptible integrity than for the qualifica- 
tions of a student. 

Like most other boys, he became early addicted 
to military exercises, and was captain of a company 
of boys, whom he drilled, marched, and counter- 
marched, and led in raids against orchards and 
corn-fields with skill and with success ; yet the farm- 
ers in that neighborhood made no complaint, or 
ever alleged that Hancock led his little company 
into any diversion that was wrong or improper. 

Perhaps the most important event of this pe- 
riod of his life was the choice of Winfield to read 
the Declaration of Independence in public at a local 
Fourth of July celebration. It showed that he 
must hare gained some skill in education, and must 



have been sufficiently intelligent to understand what 
he read, which is no slight praise for a boy of a 
dozen years or so. 

His manly qualities endeared him to his com- 
panions, and he appeared constantly as the protec- 
tor of injured innocence — meaning the physical and 
moral assistance which he gave to such small boys 
as were bullied and browbeaten by their elders, if 
not betters. But, after all, he was not a prodigy ; in 
fact, as he said himself in other years, " I developed 
late." He seems, however, at this time to have had 
aspirations beyond his years. He and his brother 
Hilary gave lectures to select audiences, on scien- 
tific and literary subjects. They made collections 
of mineral and geological specimens, probably also 
of birds' nests and eggs. Winfield, too, was fond 
of being with his elders, and of hearing arguments 
on politics and the higher topics which usually in- 
terest country farmers and townspeople alike. 

By and by there was an election to take place, 
in which two Democrats, being nominated in oppo- 
sition to each other, and one having a newspaper 
in his interest and the other not, a journal was 
started by Mr. Hancock and others, that one can- 
didate might not have undue advantage over another. 

This newspaper office became Winfield's great 
source of delightful occupation. All his leisure 
time was passed in the study of type-setting, the 
handling of forms, and the working of the press ; 
and as printers were not as plenty in those days as 
they are now, he soon became of real service in the 
office, and thus learned also to appreciate the impor- 
tance of the press in matters political. 

But a broad change was to come over the spirit 
of the boy. His wings were to be clipped, and he 
was to be placed under that rigid rule and discipline 
which up to this period had been something quite 
unfamiliar to him. 

A CADET AT WKST POINT. 

In 1840, at the age of sixteen, through the in- 
fluence of a prominent citizen of Montgomery Coun- 
ty, a friend of his father's, the boy was appointed 
to a cadetship at West Point. He left his home, to 
return to it years after a battle-stained soldier — an 
officer, who had already made his mark in the ser- 
vice of his country. 

He entered the Military Academy as a cadet, 
July 1, 1840, passing the examination for admis- 
sion with fair credit to himself and his previous 
instructors. The system of education and direction 
at West Point is an ordeal not to be lightly consid- 
ered. There the discipline is, and always has been, 
of the strictest ; and the slightest infraction of the 
rules is visited with punishment whose severity 
would ordinarily be considered extreme. For the 
first two years, Winfield seems not to have fully ap- 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



predated all this, and as he found time to devote 
himself considerably to general reading (including 
" Kent's Commentaries " and " Blackstone," by the 
way), it is probable that he did not work as hard 
as he might on the regular studies of the Academy ; 
indeed, he has since said himself that he entered 
West Point too early in life, and should have wait- 
ed until he was eighteen, to have received the full 
benefit of the course. The last two years of his 
cadetship, however, were devoted to hard study, 
and were passed with due regard to the discipline 
of the institution. He graduated on June 30, 1844, 
being breveted second lieutenant of the Sixth Infan- 
try, July 1, of that year. 

The veteran General W.infield Scott, after whom 
young Hancock was named, chanced to visit the 
Academy at the time of the latter's graduation; 
and as he already took an interest in his name- 
sake, which was continued throughout his life, he 
asked him to what regiment he preferred to be as- 
signed. "The one that is stationed farthest West," 
answered young Hancock. Doubtless sport with the 
rifle and the rod, and free occupancy of the boundless 
prairies, held forth visions of future delight. He 
got his wish, being assigned to Fort Washita, in the 
Indian country west of Arkansas. Here and in 
Texas the young man found ample opportunity for 
indulging in his sporting tastes. 

SECOND LIEUTENANT. 

On June 18, 1846, Winfield received his com- 
mission as second lieutenant, and, as the next year 
the war with Mexico broke out, the young officer 
began to feel and express great anxiety to join his 
regiment, which was already in the field ; but, for 
one reason or another, permission to this effect was 
delayed. 

The battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, 
and Buena Vista had been fought, Monterey had 
been captured, and Northern Mexico was held by 
our army of occupation ; General Scott had landed 
at Vera Cruz, had bombarded San Juan d'Ulloa, 
and was already on the march to the Mexican capi- 
tal, having fought and won the battle of Cerro Cor- 
do — before our new-fledged lieutenant was permit- 
ted to join our victorious army. Peremptory orders 
to that effect having been at last received from 
General Scott, Lieutenant Hancock was sent to the 
field with a body of troops, which joined General 
Pierce's command, and marched to reenforce Scott 
at Puebla. 

On this march there were frequent skirmishes 
■with the Mexican guerrillas, but the first heavy 
fighting was at a point called the National Bridge, 
which the Mexicans had barricaded, and from the 
heights above which they attacked our force at an 
advantage. 



Hancock had been appointed adjutant of his 
regiment. He marched on foot with his company, 
and as the army only numbered 10,000 in all, and 
was confronted and almost surrounded by enemies 
the march through the valley to the city of Mexico 
was certainly a rather exciting progress. 

THE WAR WITH MEXICO. 

At San Antonio there was a sharp conflict, and 
this was followed by the fighting at Contreras and 
Churubusco, which was a real battle. The enemy 
were behind intrenchments, and these were carried 
by a brilliant charge of our infantry, in which was 
Lieutenant Hancock's company. It was at this 
fight that Phil Kearney lost his arm. After Churu- 
busco came Molino del Key, which is only three 
miles from the city of Mexico, and which was car- 
ried by assault on September 8, 1847, by Worth's 
division. This was a brilliant engagement, the walls 
of the city being scaled and broken through by our 
soldiers with their bayonets, some lifting their com- 
rades, who clambered to the top of the walls, while 
others battered down the gates, and fought gallantly 
until the place surrendered. 

After Churubusco, Hancock was placed in com- 
mand of a company, and was soon after breveted 
first lieutenant. The most severe fighting, however, 
was that before Chapultapec, the strongly fortified 
castle on the heights, just outside the city of Mexi- 
co, and which was stormed and captured in the most 
brilliant style by the American column. When this 
stronghold fell the fate of the city of Mexico was 
sealed. Scott rode into the capital at the head of 
his army, and for a little while the American flag 
floated over the citadel. Santa Anna had fled in dis- 
may ; there was no more Mexican army ; and after 
a few months the treaty of peace, which was signed 
at Guadalupe Hidalgo, concluded both the war and 
our occupation of the city, and the army turned its 
steps homeward. 

A VISIT HOME. 

The division in which was Hancock's regiment 
proceeded to New Orleans, and thence to Jeffer- 
son Barracks, where it remained until the fall, 
when the troops were distributed, Hancock's regi- 
ment being sent to Upper Mississippi, and the 
young Lieutenant himself to Fort Crawford, Prairie 
du Chien, where he remained, filling the position 
of quartermaster until the spring of 1849. He 
then received a five months' leave of absence and 
proceeded to visit his home and relations in Penn- 
sylvania, after five years' absence. 

The welcome with which he was received by 
his parents and the friends of his childhood may 
well be imagined ; but it was not only by these, for 
the Legislature of Pennsylvania marked its appre- 



4 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



ciation of the conduct of young Hancock during his 
brief war experience by naming him in a special 
series of resolutions, complimenting the courage 
and patriotic conduct of Pennsylvania's sons in the 
American army of invasion in Mexico. 

In the autumn of 1849 Hancock returned to his 
regiment, and was appointed aide-de-camp to Briga- 
dier-General N. S. Clark, commanding the military 
department whose headquarters were at St. Louis. 
Here the young officer began to receive instructions 
in a line of duty differing widely from that to which 
he had recently become accustomed. Office work at 
the department headquarters is not very exciting 
certainly, but Hancock took to it with a natural ap- 
titude, and soon became proficient in the art of 
drawing up reports, writing orders, and copying 
official records, gaining, through this experience, a 
degree of skill and accuracy in the expression of 
ideas and the weighing of words which was after- 
ward to prove of inestimable value to him. 

MARRIAGE OF LIEUTENANT HANCOCK. 

On the 24th of January, 1850, Lieutenant Han- 
cock was married to Almira, daughter of Samuel 
Eussell, a St. Louis merchant of standing. The 
marriage has been a most happy one in every par- 
ticular. Two children were born of it, and a more 
united and affectionate family could hardly be 
found. Russell, the elder child, was born in St. 
Louis, and Ada Elizabeth, at Fort Myers, in Florida. 
The latter died in New York, March 18, 1875, leav- 
ing her parents and brother to lament a loss, which 
was to them almost irreparable. 

On November V, 1855, Lieutenant Hancock was 
appointed quartermaster, with the rank of captain, 
and ordered to Florida, where the Seminoles had 
broken out into active warfare, requiring a force of 
United States soldiers to protect the white inhabi- 
tants. Here Captain Hancock, in his position as 
quartermaster, was subjected to the most arduous 
duties in provisioning and sheltering the American 
troops ; and as he had at one time under his charge 
150 boats of different sizes, the responsibility will 
be seen to have been considerable. The troubles 
in Florida did not, however, last long, but were not 
fully over when a disturbance broke out in Kansas, 
which caused the transfer of General Harney to 
that department, Captain Hancock going with him 
at his special request. After the Kansas difiBculty 
came that in Utah. Brigadier-General Albert Sidney 
Johnston was sent with a detachment of soldiers. 
General Harney following him with a reenforcement. 
There was no bloodshed dui-ing these troubles, but 
the demands on the quartermaster's department, 
as will be understood, were constant and exacting. 

Captain Hancock was now ordered to join his 
regiment — the Sixth Infantry — which was about to 



repair to Oregon, and in July, 1858, commenced a 
journey from Cottonwood Springs, which lasted 27 
days, when the party reached Fort Bridger, Utah, 
a distance of 709 miles. Here all the companies 
of the Sixth Infantry were united, and Captain Han- 
cock was at once appointed regimental quartermas- 
ter, but the destination of the regiment was now 
changed to Benicia, California, and Hancock was 
called upon to supply transportation and subsistence 
for an expedition, whose train included 128 wagons, 
I traveling forge, 5 ambulances, and 1,000 mules. 
This expedition started on August 21st, and made 
the march of 2,100 miles, crossing the Sierra Nevada, 
to Benicia, Captain Hancock doing the entire jour- 
ney on horseback. 

After awaiting orders in California for a while, 
Hancock received a leave of absence, and returning 
East, joined his family, remaining at home for a 
short time only, however. He then received orders 
to again repair to the Pacific coast, and this time 
taking his family with him, he proceeded to the 
old Spanish town of Los Angeles, in Southern Cali- 
fornia. Here he had charge of the quartermaster's 
depot, and supplied the troops in Southern Califor- 
nia and Arizona with trains and subsistence as re- 
quired. He made friends among the inhabitants, 
and established a reputation which soon became of 
unexpected use to him. 

CALIFORNIA AND THE REBELLION. 

It was by this time the year 1860. Already on 
the Atlantic coast the first harsh notes had sounded 
which presaged the period of war and devastation 
upon which the country was now about to enter. 
In those days it took a long time for news to cross 
the continent, or go around by sea via Panama 
or the Isthmus of Tehauntepec. Butterfield's Ex- 
press was not running even, and information from 
the East was two months in reaching Southern Cali- 
fornia. At length, however, the news did come to 
the mixed population of that section of country, 
that the Southern States were breaking out of the 
Union one after another, that business was at a stand- 
still, and that the forty millions of Americans were 
divided into almost equal parts on the terrible ques- 
tion of the right of secession from the Union. South- 
ern California had been populated since the discov- 
ery of gold by persons from every State in the 
Union and adventurers from beyond the sea. They 
were a mixed and many-shaded class in character 
and nature. Southerners there were, both in and 
out of the army, who clung to their mother States, 
and now hastened back to cast their lot with them, 
regardless of ties of national patriotism, and per- 
haps thoughtless or doubtful of the future. 

The excitement in Southern California, and par- 
ticularly in Los Angeles, soon became intense, and 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



it was even a mooted point if the elaehing impulses 
and preferences would not presently bring the in- 
habitants to blows. One party clung with tenacity to 
the Southern cause, and would have dragged the 
State into the Confederacy, and others even pro- 
posed the expediency of hoisting the hear flag, and 
declaring a Pacific republic. As we have suggested, 
f some even of the army officers broke the ties which 
bound them to the service of their country, and hast- 
ened to offer their swords to the Confederate cause. 
It may well be believed that to those who remained 
staunch in their integrity, and particularly to Cap- 
tain Hancock — on whom the responsibility and the 
duty chiefly fell, not only of holding together his 
little band, but of restraining the revolutionary spirit 
of the country where he was — the situation was one 
presenting enormous difficulties and dangers, and 
requiring the shrewdest, besides the most deter- 
mined, course of treatment. 

Fortunately, Hancock's was a nature which never 
failed to respond to whatever demand might be 
made upon it. In this momdtt of risk he rose to 
the occasion and above it. Judiciously he availed 
himself of every argument with those with whom 
argument would be convincing, while, with the nerve 
and courage which were a part of his nature, he co- 
erced those who were most flagrant in their inclina- 
tion to disorder, guiding himself in each instance by 
the nature of the case, but holding ever before him- 
the vital necessity of success. 

FOURTH OF JULY, 1861. 

The Fourth of July, 1861, was a day long to be 
remembered throughout the United States of Amer- 
ica. On that day, for the first time in our history, 
the celebration of our national independence was 
observed as a sectional ceremony, in which the South- 
ern sisterhood of States took no part. On that day, 
in Washington, General Scott reviewed twenty thou- 
sand Union soldiers, who marched down Pennsyl- 
vania Avenue with drums beating and flags flying, 
while half the population of the country seemed to 
have centred there as spectators of this unwonted 
scene. In the rotunda of the old Capitol, crowds 
of visitors sang "The Star-spangled Banner" with 
an animation and enthusiasm which the old patriotic 
song had perhaps never before encountered. 

Meanwhile, across the Continent, at Los Angeles, 
in Southern California, the Fourth of July also oc- 
curred, and of this day Captain Hancock took advan- 
tage to awaken what patriotic sentiment existed, 
and to arouse it where it did not exist, and thus save 
from present infamy and future ruin this valuable 
district, which was now trembling in the balance. 
He had ordered from a distance of a hundred miles 
a squadron of cavalry, in order that he might make 
a special and impressive display ; and out of these 



and with the troops of his command at Los Angeles 
he constructed a procession and a ceremonial, which 
exerted a powerful influence in convincing those 
who were doubtful before and strengthened those 
who had never swerved. It was on this occasion, 
and as a part of this celebration, that Captain Han- 
cock delivered his remarkable Fourth of July ad- 
dress, which certainly accomplished much in turning 
the thoughts of the hearers to a better understand- 
ing of their duty, and in strengthening the patriot- 
ism of all who were present. This address deserves 
reproduction entire, but space admits of our quoting 
but a portion of it : 

" And what flag is that we look to as the ban- 
ner that carried us through that great contest, and 
was honored by the gallant deeds of its defenders ? 
The star-spangled banner of America, then embrac- 
ing thirteen pale stars, representing that number of 
oppressed colonies ; now thirty-four bright planets, 
representing that number of great States. To be 
sure, clouds intervene between us and eleven of that 
number; but we will trust that those clouds will 
soon be dispelled, and that those great stars in the 
Southern constellation may shine forth again with 
even greater splendor than before. Let them return 
to us ! We will welcome them as brothers who 
have been estranged, and love them the more that 
they were angered and then returned to us. 



" To those who, regardless of these sacred mem- 
ories, insist on sundering this Union of States, let 
us, who only wish our birthrights preserved to us, 
and whose desire it is to be still citizens of the 
great country that gave us birth, and to live under 
that flag which has gained for us all the glorious 
histories we boast of, say this day : ' Your rights we 
will respect ; your wrongs we will assist you to re- 
dress ; but the Union is a precious heritage that we 
intend to preserve and defend to the last extremity.'' 

"Let us believe, at least let us trust, that our 
brothers then do not wish to separate themselves 
permanently from the common memories which have 
so long bound us together, but that, when reason 
returns and resumes her sway, they will prefer the 
brighter page of history which our mutual deeds 
have inscribed upon the tablets of time, to that of 
the uncertain future of a new confederation, which, 
alas ! to them may prove illusory and unsatisfac- 
tory." 

Hancock's way of rendering Independence Day 
in a doubtful season settled the case of Southern 
California. There was no more talk of secession, 
or " going it alone," in that section. But neithei* 
his ambition nor his patriotism would permit Cap- 
tain Hancock to remain where his services could 
not be employed to their fullest value, and he at 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



once made an urgent request to be transferred to 
active service at the seat of war. Orders to this 
effect soon arrived, and, accompanied by his family, 



he started for the East, where he arrived on the 
4th of September, 1861, and immediately reported 
at Washington for active service. 



PART II. 

THE GENERAL 



Captain Hancock was now thirty-eight years of 
age — the prime of life ; his sixteen years of experi- 
ence as a soldier had brought him appreciation, 
rank, and position ; but it had brought him also 
much that was of greater value and higher import 
than even these good things — thorough knowledge 
of his profession in the field, the office, on long 
marches, the bivouac : there was hardly a depart- 
ment of military life with which he was not familiar. 
Meanwhile, in the matter of active service, he had 
been pitted against all classes of men — Indians, out- 
laws, guerrillas, the Mexican regular army. Such 
an experience could not but have produced as its 
result in such a nature as his the combination of 
qualities and characteristics which must necessarily 
prove invaluable to the service in which he was 
now about to engage. His merits had preceded him 
at Washington ; Worth, Harney, Clark, and others, 
in whose commands he had been, had praised him 
highly, as was his due, and though for a brief period 
his services were retained in the quartermaster's 
department, his name was almost immediately pro- 
posed by General McCIellan for the appointment 
of brigadier-general. The commission was issued 
by order of President Lincoln, on the 23d of Sep- 
tember, 1861, was accepted, and Brigadier-General 
Hancock entered upon active duty. He was assigned 
to the Army of the Potomac, under General Mc- 
CIellan, and his brigade, the first of Smith's divis- 
ion, became speedily recognized for its discipline 
and general efficiency. It comprised the Fifth Wis- 
consin, Sixth Maine, Forty-ninth Pennsylvania, and 
Fourth New York — in all, four thousand men. 

The brigade was at first camped in front of the 
Chain Bridge road, near Lewinsville, where it re- 
mained until the embarkation for the Peninsula in 
the following spring. Shortly after landing at For- 
tress Monroe, Smith's division was assigned to the 
Fourth Army Corps, and General Hancock's first 
serious conflict with the enemy took place in the 
action at Lee's Mills, on Warwick Creek, April 16, 
1862. Numerous severe skirmishes during the 
operations in front of Yorktown followed ; but it 
was on May 4, 1862, at Williamsburg, that General 
Hancock, then in command of another brigade be- 
sides his own, first gave earnest of the part he was 
to take in the war of the Rebellion. Here, with 



barely two thousand men, and by the shrewdest 
and pluckiest handling of his small force, he suc- 
ceeded in successfully resisting the attack of fully 
five thousand men, who had been sent by the ene- 
my to drive his command from Queen's Run. The 
battle began early in the morning, and a portion 
of Hancock's force, after receiving steadily a scath- 
ing fire from the enemy, was ordered by the Gen- 
eral to a crest which he had chosen for his line of 
battle. The movement was under the direct fire of 
the enemy, and was executed with the steadiness 
and coolness of veterans, and when the Confed- 
erates charged, delivering a heavy fire at fifty paces, 
they were met with such spirit and seeming audacity 
by Hancock and his brave little force that they 
fled from the field, discomfited and broken. 

Hancock's tictory. 

On this battle-field was captured, by Hancock's 
brigade, the first color taken by the Army of the 
Potomac. 

General McCIellan so highly appreciated the con- 
duct of General Hancock and his small following, 
that he personally thanked each regiment, and direct- 
ed that they should be honored by having the name 
"Williamsburg" emblazoned on their colors. 

Up the Chickahominy now marched the Army 
of the Potomac, driving the enemy before it ; and 
at Garnett's Hill, on June 27, Hancock's command 
again covered itself with glory, repelling the fierce 
attack of the enemy in a battle of about two hours' 
duration, in which the brigade lost heavily. Had it 
not been for Hancock's brigade at this battle, our 
army would have undoubtedly been divided by the 
enemy, to its imminent danger. 

In the latter part of June General McCIellan 
undertook the celebrated " change of base " to the 
James River; but on the 26th, the enemy, reen- 
forced by Stonewall Jackson, attacked him in force, 
beginning the terrible fight of the " Seven Days." 
During this period, so exhausting to our army, Han- 
cock commanded the advance of the rear guard of 
the Sixth Corps, and during the entire movement 
was exposed to the fire of the enemy day and night, 
at a point where vigilance in the general and steady 
courage in the soldier were most necessary. 

After the arrival at Harrison's Landing, Han- 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



cock's brigade was ordered up the Potomac, and soon 
occupied the intrenchments near Centreville, being 
held in camp as a part of the defensive operations 
in behalf of the capital, until the opening of the 
Maryland campaign. Hancock's brigade was now a 
part of the Sixth Corps. General Pope had been 
defeated ; his army was broken up and demoralized ; 
and the capital itself seemed almost at the mercy 
of the enemy. Such were the unhappy results of 
the political influences at Washington, which had 
at length accomplished the removal of McClellan 
from the command of the Army of the Potomac. 
But this miserable situation was fortunately not irre- 
trievable. McClellan, still loyal to the core, awaited 
orders. And when, at Washington, better counsels 
prevailed — the damaging results of political inter- 
ference now fully appearing — that gallant young 
commander was entreated by General Halleck to re- 
turn to his command. McClellan accepted, despite 
the ignominious treatment to which he had already 
been subjected; and, as if by magic, the army re- 
gained its old morale, and was again ready to op- 
pose the enemy with a determined front. 

GENERAL HANCOCK AT ANTIETAM. 

The Sixth Corps, with Hancock's brigade, went 
into action at the battle of South Mountain. Cramp- 
ton's Gap and Turner's Gap were carried ; and, on 
the morning of September 17th, with Hancock's 
brigade in the advance, the Sixth Corps reached the 
now celebrated battle-field of Antietam. Here Sum- 
ner had been already beaten, but the gallant old 
General, stubborn to the last, refused to acknowl- 
edge his defeat. Hancock formed his line of bat- 
tle, and, as the men moved under fire, he told his 
brigade what he thought of them, and how he 
knew he could depend upon their steadiness and 
gallantry in the struggle which was before them. 
The General's words were magnetic, and fired his 
men vrith enthusiasm. The order was given to ad- 
vance, and at once the brigade dashed forward in 
quick time, and flung itself upon the enemy, just as 
he was attacking some unsupported batteries in a 
corn-field at the right. The men they were confront- 
ing were Stonewall Jackson's, already become vet- 
erans, whose name throughout the country was sig- 
nificant of the hardest fighting our soldiers had to 
encounter. Hurling themselves upon our unpro- 
tected batteries, not an infantry regiment of our 
army being within reach, they promised themselves 
an instantaneous capture. It was at this moment 
that Hancock's brigade came upon the field in ex- 
act time to save the guns. Urged on by their gallant 
leader, now carried to the extreme of his stern and 
masterful control of a warlike situation, they fell 
upon Stonewall Jackson's men, and drove them 
back from the threatened guns — back into the woods 



from which they had marched a few moments before 
so eager for the fray, and into which they now sped, 
hurried and discomfited. This closed the engagement 
on that part of the field, and the battle of Antie- 
tam was won. General Lee's march of invasion was 
quelled and repressed then and there, and his de- 
feated army fell back across the Potomac into Vir- 
ginia, whither it might have been followed and ex- 
terminated, but for politics and the October elec- 
tions. 

The fall of Antietam was to witness the last ap- 
pearance of General Hancock with that magnificent 
body of men which had by this time grown to be 
known as Hancock's brigade. While still on the 
field, he was assigned to the command of the First 
Division of the Second Army Corps. 

A GENERAL OF DIVISION. 

After Antietam, the Second Army Corps was 
marched at once to Harper's Ferry, where it remained 
until the army moved to Fredericksburg, via War- 
renton, in October and November. This delay was 
occasioned mainly by want of blankets, shoes, and 
other articles of clothing, horseshoes, etc., without 
which it was impossible for the army to march. 

On November 1st the movement commenced, 
and on the 7th General McClellan was once more 
removed from the command of the Army of the 
Potomac, Major-General Burnside being ordered to 
supersede him. Had McClellan not been removed 
at this moment, it is certain that he would have 
captured Richmond, and ended the war then and 
there. The situation offered every opportunity for 
this result. McClellan had 120,000 men, to whom 
were opposed Longstreet with 42,000, and Stone- 
wall Jackson with as many more, and a mountain 
whose roads were in the hands of McClellan's cav- 
alry was between them. It was the latter's design 
to attack these two armies in turn, when he could 
easily have destroyed both of them. On the ap- 
pointment of General Burnside all of McClellan's 
plans were abandoned, and the former moved the 
army down the Rappahannock to a position opposite 
the town of Fredericksburg. 

Lee was wary, and speedily discerned the ulti- 
mate intention of Burnside's movement, and accord- 
ingly marched his forces in a line almost parallel 
with his adversary, burning the bridges at Freder- 
icksburg, and throwing up earthworks in all direc- 
tions about the city, the heights back of which 
afforded a secure and commanding position for 
his batteries. The task which Burnside had under- 
taken was evidently a desperate one. It was not 
until the night of December 10th that the Union 
army commenced to cross the river, over which they 
had thrown pontoon bridges, and on the next day 
a fierce battle began, the task of storming the 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



works on Marye's heights being assigned to the Sec- 
ond Corps, to which Hancock's division belonged. 
In the assault on these works Hancock led his di- 
vision through such a fire as has been rarely en- 
countered in warfare. At the foot of the heights 
a stone wall impeded the progress of the men, and 
from behind this the enemy could throw in a mur- 
derous musketry fire, which was terribly destructive. 

BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 

The division included Meagher's Irish Brigade, 
one of the bravest in the service, and as these men 
climbed the fatal hill their ranks were plowed up by 
artillery and decimated by a galling musketry fire, 
The slaughter was terrible, and, as it would seem, 
gratuitous. The Union army retired with a loss of 
more than 12,000, one sixth of which was in Han- 
cock's division. The General himself was under fire 
during the entire assault, and had a narrow escape 
from death, a musket ball having passed through his 
clothes next to the skin. In this galling and de- 
pressing attack, his personal efforts with his men 
kept them proudly to their work. Three of his staff 
were wounded, and four had horses shot under them. 

The army remained on the north side of the 
Rappahannock until the following month, when the 
movement was begun which was afterward known 
as the " Mud March," and which resulted in nothing 
but fatigue and embarrassment. 

This ended General Burnside's command, Gen- 
eral Hooker being appointed by the President in his 
place. The army now went into winter cantonments 
and proceeded to reorganize, and when the spring 
campaign opened was in splendid condition, com- 
prising 120,000 foot of all arms, and 12,000 well- 
appointed cavalry. 

Lee's army was at this time at Chancellorville, 
and stretching for some miles up the Rappahannock 
north to the Rapidan. Hooker determined to make 
a bold attempt at turning Lee's flank, and, accord- 
ingly, on April 27, 1863, the Fifth, Second, Elev- 
enth, and Twelfth Corps were put in motion, and a 
few days after commenced the battle of Chancellor- 
ville, which continued until May 6th. During this 
fight Hancock's division was constantly and hotly 
engaged, but to no purpose. The campaign was a 
failure, our loss being nearly 18,000 men. The 



Confederate loss was doubtless as much, and in one 
respect greater, for here fell Stonewall Jackson. 

CHANCELLORVILLE. 

At Chancellorville the Confederates had attacked 
a battery on our left with such a storm of shot and 
shell that nearly all the gunners were killed, and the 
guns in imminent danger of being captured. But 
Hancock, who was everywhere at once, saw the situ- 
ation, and riding up to the nearest infantry regi- 
ment (the Twenty-seventh Connecticut Volunteers) 
called for men to man that battery. The " Nutmeg 
State" nobly responded, and men enough and to 
spare volunteered. Hancock rode at their head un- 
der a terrible fire, his giant form and powerful horse 
the mark for a thousand bullets. Certainly both 
could not escape, and presently the splendid animal 
went down. The General paused one moment and 
caressed the dying steed — a favorite and splendid 
charger — then, on foot, he led the men forward, 
shouting, " To the guns, boys ! " and remained at 
their head until the battery was once more pouring 
destruction into the enemy. 

A CORP.S COMMANDER. 

After Chancellorville the Second Corps returned 
to its former camp in front of Fredericksburg, and 
on June 10th General Hancock was appointed to its 
command, his commission by the President of the 
United States dating from June 25th. 

But Lee by this time had become so elated with 
the failures of the Union army that he determined 
to " carry the war into Africa," and began his fa- 
mous raid into Pennsylvania, which resulted in the 
battle of Gettysburg. Ascending the southern bank 
of the river, he disguised his intention by certain 
movements, threw his army suddenly northward 
across the Potomac, and through Western Maryland 
invaded Pennsylvania. Hooker speedily informed 
himself of Lee's intention, and hurried the Army of 
the Potomac back via Warrenton, Cattell Station, 
Fairfax Station, and Manassas, toward the capital. 
In the mean time A. P. Hill, who had remained at 
Fredericksburg, joined the main body of the army, 
the entire force being hurried forward on its mam- 
moth raid ; Jenkins, with his cavalry, meanwhile 
ravaging the counties of Franklin and Cumberland, 
seizing cattle and horses in large numbers. 



PART III. 

G E T T Y S B U R G 



The entire North was now aroused to the danger 
of the situation. For the first time invasion had 
entered the Northern States, and the most painful 
characteristics of warfare were now brought home 



to us. In the mean time the movements of the Fed- 
eral armies were being directed from Washington, 
instead of by the generals in the field, and Hooker, 
seeing what a responsibility was now facing him, 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



resigned his command, being relieved on the 28tQ 
by Major-General George G. Meade. The latter was 
a judicious and able general, and at once made such 
disposition of the force at his command as to inter- 
fere seriously with Lee's plans. But for this the 
Confederate army would have undoubtedly crossed 
the Susquehanna and struck Harrisburg, if they did 
not even fall upon Philadelphia. 

A great battle was now obviously inevitable. 
Meade was inclined to fight it at Pipe Clay Creek, 
a stream running a few miles southeast of Gettys- 
burg. But it fell to General Hancock to arrange a 
different locality for the engagement. 

The Second Corps arrived at Taneytown on July 
1st, and General Hancock was ordered immediately 
to the front to assume charge of the Eleventh, First, 
and Third Corps, in consequence of the death of 
General Reynolds. At the same time he was direct- 
ed by General Meade to examine the ground, and 
advise the latter as to the best location on which 
to fight. This General Hancock proceeded to do, 
and after a careful examination, reached Cemetery 
Hill, where he found our troops retiring in hot haste 
through the town of Gettysburg, fiercely pursued by 
the enemy. Up to this point the Confederates had 
had the best of the battle. Our men were in full 
retreat, hurrying to the rear in a confused mass in 
which all organization was lost, while no ofiScer on 
the field appeared to have sufficient personal force 
to repress their excited flight ; but the appearance 
of General Hancock acted like magic. By this time 
the character and ability of the General were fully 
understood throughout the Army of the Potomac; 
the man who had sprung at a bound from the posi- 
tion of captain to that of brigadier-general, and had 
in less than three years risen to be a corps com- 
mander, was recognized as a born leader of men. 
He was almost worshiped by the men of his personal 
command, and respected and admired by the soldiers 
throughout the army. Perceiving at a glance the 
dangerous nature of the situation, Hancock exerted 
that marvelous magnetic force, which in emergen- 
cies always developed itself in him at precisely the 
right moment, and moving calmly and confidently 
among the flying throng, in an incredibly short time 
produced order out of chaos. The soldiers stopped 
in their headlong career when they heard that Han- 
cock was at the front. Regimental and brigade 
organizations were speedily reformed, the Confed- 
erate advance was repulsed, and our lines being 
promptly reestablished. General Hancock dispatched 
his senior aide-de-camp. Major W. G. Mitchell, with 
a verbal order to General Meade that he " could hold 
Cemetery Hill until nightfall, and that he considered 
Gettysburg the place to fight the coming battle." 
Reenforcements being sent up by General Meade, 
the Union line of battle was soon fully sustained. 



THE BATTLE OP GETTYSBURG. 

The fighting was commenced about three o'clock 
on the afternoon of the 2d, when General Sickles, 
with the Third Corps, advanced on the enemy's right 
toward the Emmettsburg road. The attack was 
sharp, and brought on a general engagement, in 
which General Sickles was disabled, and the com- 
mander of the army ordered General Hancock to 
take command of the Third Corps in addition to 
his own. Our line at this point was now strength- 
ened by Doubleday's division, and presently the ene- 
my advanced along its entire front. An interval 
between two of our corps attracted the attention of 
a rebel regiment, which started to penetrate it, firing 
as it advanced. Turning to one of our regiments 
which was approaching in column of fours to pro- 
tect that point, General Hancock pointed to the 
rebel column, and said to the commander: "Do 
you see those colors ? " " Yes." " Well, secure 
them." "I will. General," said the commander, 
smiling, and his regiment charged, as it was formed, 
in the most gallant manner, dispersing the rebel 
regiment and capturing its colors and a number of 
prisoners. Months afterward General Hancock 
sought out this regiment, that he might recommend 
its commander for promotion, and learned that it 
was one of his own corps, the heroic First Minnesota. 

The battle of the 2d closed with a savage attack 
on General Howard's front, where the fight waxed so 
close and strong that the artillerymen of Batteries 
B, Fourth U. S. Artillery, and F, First Pennsylvania 
Artillery, were defending themselves with sponge- 
staffs and rammers. The bugler of one of these 
batteries had his brains knocked out by a trail hand- 
spike in the hands of one of the enemy. Shortly 
after dark a council of war was held at General 
Meade's headquarters, which General Hancock at- 
tended, as corhmander of the left center of the army. 
At this council it was decided that Gettysburg was 
the place to fight t'ne battle, in accordance with 
General Hancock's judgment and advice. 

MAGNIFICENT DARING. 

The struggle did not recommence until one 
o'clock on the following day, when a terrible can- 
nonading was opened upon our lines from one hun- 
dred and twenty guns from the enemy's batteries 
at once. General Hancock was at the moment 
engaged with General Meade and other officers in 
the rear of the line of battle of the Second Corps. 
He was dictating an order to one of his staff, when 
the first shell fell in the group, killing one man and 
wounding several others. Now they came hurtling 
through the air, falling thick and fast, and devas- 
tating wherever they fell. It was at this moment 
that General Hancock, calling together his staif. 



10 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



spurred his horse to the front of the line of battle. 
Behind and around him were Major Mitchell, Cap- 
tain Harry Bingham, Captain Isaac Parker, and 
Captain E. P. Brownson, with Private James Wells, 
of the Sixth New York Cavalry, carrying the corps 
flag flying in his hands. Starting at the right of the 
line where it joined the Taneytown road, the group 
rode slowly along the crest, exposed to the terrible 
fire of the enemy's artillery, than which it has been 
said by an eye-witness nothing more sublime or ap- 
palling has ever been known in war. Spurning all 
thouglit of fear, the great General and his noble offi- 
cers proceeded as calmly as if on parade, for a full 
mile between the contending forces, while the men 
of the Army of the Potomac almost made their 
shouts of admiration and confidence ring beyond 
the storm of shot and shell that was everywhere 
bursting around them. The act was bold — hazard- 
ous — magnificent — apparently foolhardy to the last 
degree. It was, in fact, the result of positive inspi- 
ration, and calculated to rouse the Union army to 
what was to be the grandest effort — the turning- 
point — of the war. On both sides the men pitted 
against each other — of the same blood, traditions, 
and race — were about equal in numbers and about 
equally veterans. It was a moment when it re- 
quired the all-seeing and all-compassing measures 
of a demi-god. Hancock, with far-reaching pre- 
science and unbounded nerve and determination, 
saw the fateful instant and grasped its hidden in- 
fluence. The act inspired confidence in our men, 
as could no other course have done, and as that lit- 
tle group of horsemen disappeared majestically in 
the thick cloud of battle smoke, a thrill ran through 
the lines, and every man was nerved to a power 
against which it were vain to bring opposition. 

SPLENDID CHARGE OF THE ENEMY. 

The artillery fire now became hot and persistent 
on both sides. Now two hundred guns belched forth 
a continuous shower of deadly missiles. The roar 
was deafening. This continued for nearly two hours, 
a period of wreck and destruction such as was not 
seen on any other battle-field during the war. Cais- 
sons were exploded, men were blown to pieces at 
their guns ; regiments, and even brigades, were cut 
through like grass with a mower. At length the fire 
slackened ; and then, preceded by a strong hne of 
skirmishers, a column of the enemy's infantry, num- 
bering eighteen thousand men, advanced from the 
woods beyond the Emmettsburg road. This attack- 
ing force was composed of Pickett's division, in 
double line of battle, including the brigades of Kem- 
per and Garnet in front, with Armistead's brigade 
supporting. On the right was Wilcox's brigade, in 
column of battalions, and on the left Heth's divis- 
ion. Now a curious incident befell General Han- 



cock, who was again riding in front of the lines, 
cheering and inspiring confidence in his men, when, 
as the enemy's column approached, the horse he was 
riding, a favorite and well-trained steed, balked and 
could not be induced to move. The General was 
obliged to borrow a horse from one of his staff. 
Captain Brownson, saying to him, " You can afford 
to have a horse of this kind on such an occasion as 
this, but I can not." The fight was now continuous 
and severe all along the line. Our troops held their 
fire until the enemy were close in front of them, 
when the slaughter became terrific. At the center, 
our line, hardly pressed, fell back a little, and we 
were losing ground. At this moment a color ser- 
geant of the Seventy-second Pennsylvania Volun- 
teers advanced alone with his colors, straight in the 
face of the enemy. This encouraged our men, and 
aroused them to an invincible determination. The 
whole line pressed forward, and with desperate 
fighting, hand to hand, recovered the lost ground, 
forcing the enemy to flight, while numbers of them 
flung themselves on the ground in surrender. 

GENERAL HANCOCK SHOT FROM HIS HORSE. 

In the mean time General Hancock was in all 
parts of the field, seeking out the weak points and 
strengthening them, ordering up reenf orcements, and 
exposed to a hot fire all the time. Reaching the 
left, he rode along the front of General Stannard's 
line, where the men were lying down in ranks, and 
directed that General to send two of his regiments 
to attack the enemy's right. As he turned again 
toward the point where the enemy's attack was most 
severe and direct. General Hancock was struck by 
a Minie-ball and shot from his horse. The ball 
passed through the pommel of his (McClellan) sad- 
dle, carrying with it bits of the wood and a rusty 
nail, tore through the thigh-bone, and lodged behind 
the muscle, producing a fearful wound. It happened 
that the General was at this moment unaccompa- 
nied by any of his personal staff, though his tried 
and faithful color-bearer, Private James Wells, was 
with him, as was always the case. The General 
was caught as he fell from his horse by two of 
General Stannard's staff, and placed gently upon 
the ground, while an order was sent for a stretcher 
to bear him from the front of the field. At this 
moment Major Mitchell came up, entirely unaware 
of this occurrence, or of the General's presence at 
this point, although he was engaged in looking for 
him. Being here, and perceiving the necessity for 
an order to Stannard's brigade, he gave it in Gen- 
eral Hancock's name, and then, while riding on in 
search of his chief, came upon the group around the 
woijnded commander. The shock to the faithful 
officer was a terrible one. Kneeling beside him, he 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



11 



took the General's hand, and for a moment was 
speechless. 

At this time the turning-point of the battle had 
been reached. Repulsed with great loss at the cen- 
ter and both wings, the enemy were all retreating. 
Desiring to cheer the General, Major Mitchell said 
to him, " The battle is ours ; they are retreating at 
all points." By turning himself partly on his side 
and raising himself upon his elbow, the General 
could see the field in front of him, and the retiring 
foe turning sullenly to fire a last volley as they dis- 
appeared in the distance. Perceiving at a glance 
that his aide was correct in his report, General Han- 
cock delayed the ambulance, in which he was now 
placed for removal to the hospital of the Second 
Corps, while he dictated the following message to 
Major Mitchell to carry to General Meade : " Tell 
General Meade that the troops under my command 
have repulsed the enemy's assault, and that we 
have gained a great victory. The enemy is now 
flying in all directions in my front." On his deliver- 
ing this message to the Commander of the Army, 
and informing him that General Hancock was dan- 
gerously wounded. General Meade dispatched by the 
hands of Major Mitchell the following reply : " Say 
to General Hancock that I regret exceedingly that 
he is wounded, and that I thank him, for the coun- 
try and for myself, for the services he has rendered 
to-day." 

A further dispatch was sent by General Han- 
cock to General Meade, in which he said : " We have 
won a victory, and nothing is wanted to make it de- 
cisive but that you should carry out your intention. 
I have been severely, but I trust not seriously, wound- 
ed. I did not leave the field so long as there was a 
rebel to be seen upright." 

THE WOUNDED HERO AT HOME. 

From the field-hospital General Hancock was 
conveyed to the railway station, placed on a stretch- 
er across two seats in the car, and thus carried, via 
Philadelphia, to his father's house at Norristown. 

The wound did not heal kindly, and gave very 
serious trouble. Indeed, it was thought at first 
that it had been caused by an explosive bullet. The 
ball was not found until six weeks after, when it was 
discovered imbedded in the thigh, and extracted. 
I For months, and indeed, through a greater portion 
of the war, the wound continued to be actively 
troublesome, pieces of bone constantly coming from 
it ; and General Hancock was accustomed to ride in 
an ambulance durmg the marches, persisting, how- 
ever, in mounting his horse on the field of battle, 
regardless of the torture, and even danger, to which 
he was subjected. This continued until, during the 
following year's campaigning, be was obliged to re- 
sign his command for about two weeks, and have 



his wound carefully attended to, after which period 
it did not disable him from active duty, although 
it continued to trouble him more or less for 
years. 

The casualties in the Second Army Corps, during 
the great battle of Gettysburg, were 4,413, nearly 
44 per cent, of all engaged. The Artillery Brigade, 
consisting of only five batteries, lost 150 men and 
200 horses, besides three of the battery commanders 
killed and one wounded. The prisoners captured 
by the corps numbered 4,500, and 38 stands of 
colors were taken. 

THE FIELD OF GETTYSBDRG. 

The battle of Gettysburg ranks among the grand- 
est of modern times. Not only were the largest 
armies known to modern warfare engaged in the 
struggle during parts of the three different days, 
but the generalship, the courage, the determination, 
and the endurance, on both sides, were extraordinary 
in the history of battles. What might have hap- 
pened had this conflict been fought out on the line 
originally designed by General Meade, it is, of course, 
impracticable to say ; but that it was fought, and 
resulted in a complete victory, on the plan conceived 
by General Hancock, and mainly under his personal 
direction, displays the highest order of generalship 
in that officer. His persistent daring, forgetful of 
his own safety, was shown at every stage of the three 
days' fight, and at last to his dangerous injury and 
almost loss of life. 

No single incident in recent wars has equaled in 
sublimity and impressiveness the assault of Pick- 
ett's 18,000 men, in the tremendous charge on our 
left center, held by the troops under Hancock's com- 
mand, on the 3d of July. Under a murderous fire of 
shell, grape, and musketry, these veterans swept 
steadily on, commanding the admiration of their 
enemies even, by their dauntless courage and deter- 
mination. Through strange ignorance of the move- 
ments of our army, the advance of this column, 
had supposed that they were attacking a force of 
new recruits, substitutes, or raw militia ; but a closer 
view informed them, and, brave North Carolinians 
though they were, raising the cry " the Army of 
the Potomac ! " they broke and ran. Pickett's sea- 
soned Virginians held on, however, and, mounting 
the side of Cemetery Ridge, and flinging themselves 
against Hancock's line, fought desperately for the 
advantage. Here, says Swinton, " Hancock, who 
had the day before turned the fortunes of the battle 
in a similar emergency, again displayed those quali- 
ties of cool appreciation and quick action that had 
proved him one of the foremost commanders on the 
actual field of battle, and instantly drew together 
troops to make a bulwark against any farther ad- 
vance of the now exultant enemy. This daring 



12 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



charge was repulsed, with terrible loss to the Con- 
federates." 

In the entire three days' fight at Gettysburg the 
Union army lost 23,210, while the Confederate loss 
was estimated at 30,000, nearly 14,000 being taken 
prisoners. 

The 4th of July was passed in quiet, the two 
lines lying inactive in front of each other, and on 
the morning of the 5th the enemy had departed. 
When this was discovered, the enthusiasm of the 
Army of the Potomac knew no bounds. The sur- 
rounding heights echoed back cheer after cheer. 
" Cheers for the Philadelphia Brigade that stood a 
living wall, against which the host beat in vain. 
Cheers for Meade, the soldier ' without fear and 
without reproach,' who here begun with a great vic- 
tory his illustrious career as Commander of the Army 
of the Potomac. Cheers for Hancock, who had 
stemmed the tide of defeat on the first day, and 
selected the ground on which this glorious victory 
was achieved ; who, on the second day, had again 
stopped the tide of rebel victory and restored our 
shattered lines ; and, on the third day, who had met 
and repulsed the final assault, on which Lee's all 
was staked, and won the battle which was really 
the death-blow of the Rebellion." 

HONORS TO GENERAL HANCOCK. 

General Hancock's retirement from the victori- 
ous field of Gettysburg, and his painful journey 
homeward, were marked by a perfect ovation on 
the part of all who came within sight and hearing 
of the wounded veteran. All along the route, as 
the news of his coming, shattered and prostrated, 
became known to the people, crowds met the train 
at the stations, and displayed their admiration for 
his soldierly qualities, and their regret at his misfor- 
tune. 

The period of his convalescence was marked by 



his reception of frequent testimonials of regard 
from his fellow citizens. A magnificent service of 
gold and silver plate was presented to him by the 
citizens of Norristown ; and in February, 1864, the 
Select and Common Councils of Philadelphia passed 
a series of most flattering resolutions in his honor, 
tendering him the use of Independence Hall for a 
reception to his friends, which was accordingly held 
in that place on the afternoon of February 25 with 
great eclat. The Union League of Philadelphia hon- 
ored him with a handsome silver medal, struck to 
commemorate his high public services. At a later 
period Congress passed a joint resolution conveying 
" the gratitude of the American people and of their 
representatives in Congress, to Major-General Win- 
field Scott Hancock, for his gallant, meritorious, and 
conspicuous share in that great decisive victory" 
(Gettysburg). 

Those terrible days in July, 1863, were not alone 
memorable on the field of Gettysburg, for at Vicks- 
burg, Miss., General Grant had gained a tremen- 
dous victory, capturing that stronghold after a con- 
tinuous siege of six weeks. Commissioned for this 
success Major-General in the United States Army, 
General Grant received the rank of lieutenant-gen- 
eral on March 2, 1864, and, on the 17th of the 
same month, took command of the Union forces in 
Virginia. 

The army was now reorganized into three corps : 
the Fifth, under Major-General Warren ; the Sixth, 
under Sedgwick ; and the Second, Major-Genei'al 
Winfield Scott Hancock commanding. Of the latter, 
says Swinton: "Hancock maybe characterized as 
the ideal of a soldier. Endowed with a magnetic 
presence and with a superb personal gallantry, he 
was one of those lordly leaders, who, upon the actual 
field of battle, rule the hearts of troops with a po- 
tent and irresistible mastery." General Meade com- 
manded the Army of the Potomac. 



PART TV. 

A DISASTROUS CAMPAIGN. 



On December 15, 1863, General Hancock report- 
ed for duty, and immediately resumed command of 
his corps ; but was, however, soon after dispatched 
North to effect, by his personal presence and in- 
fluence, a large accession of recruits for the Army 
of the Potomac, in which he succeeded to the entire 
satisfaction of the Government and himself. 

In the spring of 1864, the Second Corps was 
reviewed by General Grant, turning out more than 
twenty-seven thousand men, the greater number of 
whom were veterans. The Confederate army under 



Lee was now stretched along the bluff ridges skirt- 
ing the south bank of the Rapidan, and, as the 
position was too strong for a direct attack. Grant 
determined on an attempt to turn his right, and ac- 
cordingly started on the campaign which resulted 
in the battles of the " Wilderness." No more dif- 
ficult or dangerous country in which to carry on a 
campaign could be well imagined than this. Ex- 
tending southward from the right bank of the Rapi- 
dan, it is densely wooded with dwarf timlxr and 
underbrush, and, except occasional clearings, and 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



13 



the ravines which seam it in all directions, is al- 
most impenetrable for this reason. In this unprom- 
ising locality was destined to be fought a series of 
engagements which, for stubborn and self-sacrificing 
persistence, have probably never been equaled. 

On the night of May 3d the Second Corps moved 
out of camp, a magnificent organization of eighty- 
four regiments of infantry and a brigade of artillery, 
comprising nine batteries — altogether including near- 
ly thirty thousand enlisted men and oflScers, fit for 
duty. During this campaign, reenforcements to the 
number of twenty-five regiments were added to this 
corps, making the force engaged during its progress 
one hundred and nine regiments. 

The Army of the Potomac crossed the Rapidan 
without molestation from the enemy, Lee's design 
appearing to have been to permit its entanglement 
in the wilds which it was now about to penetrate. 
One hundred thousand men and four hundred wag- 
ons crossed the river, and on the 5tb the Second 
Corps took up its line of march on the left of the 
army. But a short distance had been traversed, 
however, when the enemy was discovered in force 
on the Wilderness turnpike, and almost immediate- 
ly sharp fighting took place about at the intersection 
of the Brock and Orange plank roads. One piece 
of high ground was discovered, and there was placed 
the left of our line, at the only spot where artillery 
could be of any service. General Hancock now or- 
dered breastworks to be thrown up of earth and 
logs along his entire line of battle ; but as this was 
done on the narrow Brock road, with dense forests 
on both sides, the difiiculties of the location will be 
readily perceived. 

BATTLE OF THE " WILDERNESS." 

Shortly after four o'clock in the afternoon, the 
advance of Hancock's column became engaged with 
the enemy, the latter being in great force. General 
Hancock at once ordered up reenforcements, but not 
having sufficient time to form his line of battle, and 
as, owing to the crowded nature of the situation, it 
became difficult to push up reenforcements fast 
enough, the battle had to be continued from our 
side with but little regard to the circumstances, 
and at a disadvantage as concerned the location. 
The lines were close together, and as the fighting 
continued until after dark it became impossible for 
our side to know anything about the movements of 
the enemy. The only advantage that was gained 
by us in this first day was that the enemy's right 
was driven in on his reserves, his left having suc- 
cessfully resisted us. 

It should be stated that the sharpest fighting and 
the only success of the day rested with Hancock's 
corps. During this fight a serious loss occurred to 



the Union army in the death of General Alexander 
Hays, a magnificent and valuable soldier. 

The following morning General Hancock was in- 
formed that Longstreet was coming up with a large 
force by way of the Catharpen road to attack his 
flank. Of course he immediately made preparations 
to give the rebel General a warm reception. Bar- 
low's division being placed in position, artillery was 
posted to cover the road over which it was sup- 
posed Longstreet would advance. Besides this, a 
strong skirmish line was thrown out, and the oppor- 
tunity for organization and formation of our lines 
employed as far as possible. This day began with a 
fierce musketry encounter, when the enemy's line 
was driven through the forest for nearly two miles 
with great loss. An order by General Hancock to 
support this successful attack with a division was 
not attended to, owing to fears of Longstreet. Had 
this been done, the enemy would have been com- 
pletely defeated. 

AN UNFORTUNATE SITUATION. 

The scare about Longstreet turned out to have 
been unnecessary, as the attack on our left which 
he undoubtedly intended was necessarily aban- 
doned by him, while he went to the assistance of 
A. P. Hill, who was being badly cut up. Orders 
were now sent by General Meade to General Han- 
cock for a portion of his force to support the Fifth 
Corps, which had fallen back in disorder after a 
sharp attack by the enemy. It was now that Long- 
street seized his opportunity to make a fierce as- 
sault to relieve Hill, and succeeded in turning 
Meade's left. This success on the part of the Con- 
federates rendered it impossible for Hancock to 
longer hold his advanced position. Now appeared 
the misfortune of the terrible character of the 
ground over which they were fighting. Here it 
was impossible for personal daring or magnetic 
presence to effect anything with the men. Unlike 
Antietam or Gettysburg, Hancock could neither see 
his men nor be seen by them but for a distance of 
a few rods. Add to all this that our troops had 
been for many hours under heavy fire in the hot- 
test of weather, constantly advancing in a fatiguing 
march, and disappointed and disheartened at last 
on account of not receiving assistance which would 
have made their success a glorious victory, and it 
will be admitted that they could hardly now be 
expected to resist with the same enthusiasm the 
new and fierce attack of Longstreet's force from an 
entirely unexpected quarter. Accordingly our forces 
retired, fighting, to the old position behind the 
breastworks. Nothing further of importance oc- 
curred until late in the afternoon, when the enemy 
renewed the attack, and, with temporary success, 
some of his men reaching our breastworks. Here, 



u 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



unfortunately for us, a fire broke out, and the terri- 
ble heat and smoke which resulted drove our men 
from the line. 

The night of the 6th and the morning of the 
7th passed without any important movement on 
either side, and, indeed, the whole of the latter day 
saw little or no fighting. At daylight on the morn- 
ing of the 8th, General Hancock was ordered to 
withdraw his corps from the Brock road. He did 
go, and covered the rear of the army, which now 
moved toward Spottsylvania Court-house. 

A DESPERATE BATTLE. 

The battle of the Wilderness was a desperate 
hand-to-hand duel, fought under the most forbid- 
ding and exasperating circumstances. For two days 
the contending hosts struggled against each other, 
both buried in the thick entanglement of the chap- 
arral without opportunity for conclusive fighting, 
for manoeuvres, or for stragetic movements. Those 
to whom it was most necessary that the current of 
the battle should be visible, could judge of it only 
by the cheers of the one side or the savage yells of 
the other, by the sharp rattle of musketry, or the 
roar of cannon. 

The loss of the Second Corps during the two 
days' engagement was 3,762 men. At one time dur- 
ing the' second day's battle. General Hancock had 
under his command not less than 60,000 men. The 
General in his ofiicial report comments as follows on 
the nature of the engagement : " The undergrowth 
was so heavy that it was scarcely possible to see 
more than a hundred paces in any direction. No 
movements of the enemy could be observed, until 
the lines were almost in collision, or the roar of the 
musketry disclosed the position of the combatants 
to those who were at any distance, and my knowl- 
edge of the field, except in my immediate position, 
was limited, and was necessarily derived from re- 
ports of subordinate commanders." 

No other such battle was ever fought ; and when 
on the 7th there was a pause, both armies fell back, 
bleeding and fatigued, while ten thousand dead and 
wounded in those horrible thickets testified to the 
magnitude and ferocity of the strife. This was a 
drawn battle, although the Federal forces lost most 
heavily. 

But neither the nature nor the result of this 
contest altered General Grant's purpose of turning 
Lee's flank and getting between him and Richmond ; 
and as soon as the Union army could be withdrawn 
and again consolidated, it was moved rapidly in the 
direction of Spottsylvania Court-house, some fifteen 
miles from which occurred the battle known by 
that name, Lee's army being immediately put in 
motion on a parallel line with the Federal force. 



ON THE MARCH AGAIN. 

This section of the country, though a little more 
open, and affording occasional clearings or level 
places, possesses the same general characteristics 
peculiar to the Wilderness. Our men had been 
marching and fighting without food or rest, until 
they were thoroughly exhausted, and being attacked 
a short distance from tlie court-house, they fell back 
and retired to the woods. The army, moving by the 
left flank, was led by the Fifth Corps, following 
which came the Second Corps and General Hancock. 
Reaching a point known as Todd's tavern, where 
two roads centred, the corps dug intrenchments, 
and waited to receive the enemy. The morning of 
the 9th brought a special disaster in the loss of 
General Sedgwick, who was shot in the face while 
rallying his men. It was not until the 10th that the 
fight actually commenced, and it continued fiercely 
during that and the following day. The struggle was 
desperate, and so far as our forces were concerned, 
ineffectual, our men being greatly outnumbered by 
the enemy. The position which the Confederates 
occupied, a considerable elevation densely covered 
with woods and protected by earthworks, was a pe- 
culiarly strong one, while it was rendered almost 
impossible of approach by a thicket of low cedars, 
whose sharply pointed branches opposed an impas- 
sable barrier to the advance of our troops; yet, 
despite both the artificial and the natural obstruc- 
tions, the gallant soldiers did actually force their 
way into the enemy's works, but were driven back 
with heavy loss. Under all the circumstances. Gen- 
eral Hancock withdrew his men. 

At nightfall on the following day General Meade 
ordered another assault, and the ground was accord- 
ingly examined by General Hancock's staff with a 
view to selecting the best point whereat to make it. 

SPOTTSYLVANIA COCRT-HOUSE. 

At 10 p. M. Hancock's column was in motion, and 
about midnight formed at what was known as the 
" brown house," about three quarters of a mile dis- 
tant from the enemy's position in front of the " Len- 
drum house." So much time was taken in the forma- 
tion, that it was not until half past four that the word 
was given, and Barlow's and Birney's divisions pushed 
forward in quick time to the attack. The enemy was 
completely surprised, and their pickets were abso- 
lutely marched over, as they stood open-mouthed in 
wonder at this unexpected onslaught from a quarter 
where they had not the least idea that there was any 
portion of our army. The Irish Brigade first reached 
the enemy's intrenchments, and dashing forward at 
the double quick, at a pace and with an enthusiasm 
that nothing could check, the gallant fellows forced 
their way, tearing away the abatis with their hands, 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



15 



and, as they sprang over the breastworks, bayonet- 
ing and clubbing to the earth the now aroused and 
desperate foe. It was the quickest affair, altogetlier, 
that occurred during the war. In a few moments 
the corps was in possession of nearly a mile of line, 
more than 4,000 prisoners (being the men of Ewell's 
corps, Johnson's division), twenty pieces of artillery, 
horses, caissons, and other material complete, sev- 
eral stands of small arms, and more than thirty 
battle flags. Among the prisoners were Major-Gen- 
eral Edward Johnson and Brigadier-General George 
Stuart. Here was captured, almost in its entirety, 
the celebrated "Stonewall Brigade." Within the 
intrenchments the dead were piled in masses, and 
the larger number of them were killed by the bayo- 
net. 

A SPLENDID VICTORY. 

After the capture, our men followed the enemy 
through the woods toward Spottsylvania, until they 
met his reenf orcements coming up, when they slowly 
retired to the works, which General Hancock had in 
the mean time occupied by his reserves. This was 
barely done in time, for the Confederates speedily 
came up in force ; and now there occurred, lasting for 
hours, the most extraordinary scene. With a bravery 
and stubborn determination which could not but be 
admired, the enemy forced his line of battle straight 
to the breastworks, planting his colors on the side 
opposite ours, and there, with nothing but the parapet 
between them, the two lines fired into each others' 
faces. This fire was so terrific in its effects that the 
underbrush in all directions was mown down like 
grain, and trees a foot in diameter were cut in twain 
by Minie-balls. The fight at last became so hot that 
reenforcements were called for from General Han- 
cock, and still the fierce struggle went on, until, 
about midnight on the 12th, the Confederate troops 
were withdrawn to their second line of intrench- 
ments. The enemy were signally defeated in this 
battle, losing more than 10,000 men. 

The next two days passed without any heavy 
fighting. On the 17th the Second Corps was re- 
enforced by the Corcoran Legion and a division of 
heavy artillery. On the 18th a general attack was 
ordered by General Meade, but the enemy's works 
were found to be too strong to be carried by assault, 
and our troops withdrew. 

On the 19th, according to instructions. General 
Hancock marched his corps toward Bowling Green, 
on the Richmond and Potomac Railroad. Crossing 
the Mattapony, General Hancock proceeded to per- 
form his part of the still continued " flank move- 
ment," Lee's army, Mbwever, being in the advance, 
and moved in a parallel line with the Union force, 
as before, the object of both generals being to first 
reach and cross the North Anna. Lee was success- 



ful in this, and intrenched himself heavily on the 
south bank of the river. 



BATTLE OF COLD HARBOR. 

Thus alternately fighting and marching, the move- 
ment continued from the North Anna to the Pamun- 
key, and thence to Toloptomy Creek, where General 
Hancock received orders from General Meade to 
proceed to Cold Harbor, with a design of interposing 
there between the enemy's head and the Chickaho- 
miny. From Spottsylvania to Cold Harbor occu- 
pied the time until June 2d ; the march had been 
one of constant and most trying exertion, and the 
men were now completely exhausted. It was in this 
condition that Hancock's corps was formed to at- 
tack the enemy, who held a strong position at what 
was known as the "sunken road." In the battle 
which followed, our men were repulsed, and General 
Hancock's corps lost very severely, particularly in 
officers. General Hancock was in the front of the 
fight with Barlow's division during the assault. 
After it was over, General Grant came on the field 
and was informed by General Hancock of the un- 
fortunate conclusion, and though a second attempt 
was at first considered, it soon became obvious that 
this would be useless, and the idea was given up. 

On the 7th a cessation of hostilities took place 
for the purpose of burying the dead, and succoring 
the wounded between the lines. It is painful to 
remember and record the terrible situation which, 
with one or two exceptions, menaced our brave army 
continually from the period of its first entering the 
gloomy and ominous " Wilderness." Though success- 
ful on certain occasions, when brilliancy of cour- 
age and daring marked the conduct of our men, the 
general sequence of events was painfully harassing 
and disastrous. Of course, a commander who felt 
the value of his men and appreciated their worth 
as did General Hancock, could not but be depressed 
at the melancholy result of this campaign. 

At Cold Harbor his headquarters were in the 
most exposed location, and his anxiety caused him 
to thrust himself into danger, apparently without 
being aware of it. At night, when heavy firing 
roused in his mind doubts as to the nature of what 
might be occurring, he would mount his horse and 
ride rapidly in the direction of the sound, thought- 
less of the danger to which he might expose him- 
self. Siege operations being undertaken at Cold 
Harbor, the corps remained, taking part in these 
until the night of June 12th, when it took up its 
march for the James River, broken and almost 
decimated by the terrible losses to which it bad 
been subjected. 

It was at about this time that General Hancock 
replied to the question, " Where is the Second 



16 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



Corps ? " " It lies buried between the Eapidan and 
the James." 

THE " CHANGE OF BASE." 

General Grant's change of base to the James 
Kiver, involving a march across the Peninsula of 
fifty-five miles, was conducted with great skill, and 
without interference on the part of Lee. The army 
reached the James at a point below Harrison's Land- 
ing, and shortly after General Hancock was ordered 
to take his command to Petersburg. 

Space will not permit of a detailed description 
of the connection of General Hancock and the Sec- 
ond Corps with siege operations at Petersburg, the 
expeditions to Deep Bottom, and other contemporary 
movements. 

On the I'Zth of June the irritation of General 
Hancock's wound became utterly insupportable, and 
he was obliged to relinquish the command of his 
corps temporarily to Major-General Birney. The 
stern and unflinching pluck with which General 
Hancock had borne the pain of this open wound 
during all the terrible marches of the campaign, 
exhibited, perhaps, the soldier side of his character 
in a higher degree than even the courage with 
which he so constantly faced danger on the field 
of battle. 

On the 27th of June General Hancock resumed 
command. Then followed the expedition to destroy 
the railroads north of Richmond with the fighting 
at Deep Bottom, all of which occupied the next 
month, and on the 25th of August occurred the 
battle at Ream's Station, in which the Second Corps 
was badly defeated with great loss. In this fight 
Hancock exposed himself, almost, as it appeared, 
with desperation, in his efforts to restore his men 
to something of their old elasticity and enthusiasm ; 
but the continuous hammering intervening between 
the long and tiresome marches to whi6h they had 
been subjected during the past three months ren- 
dered all such attempts fruitless. 

General Hancock's horse was shot under him, 
another ball cut his bridle-rein in two, while six 
balls struck his corps flag and staff — always in his 
immediate company with its courageous bearer, Pri- 
vate James Wells. 

Hancock's last battle — botdton road. 

After Ream's Station came the battle of Boyd- 
ton road, General Hancock's last fight with the 
Second Corps, and, in fact, his last engagement dur- 
ing the war. On the night of September 24th the 
Second Corps relieved the Tenth in the intrench- 
ments extending from the right of Mott's division, 
to the Appomattox. Here the corps remained until 
October 21st, when as a part of a formidable move- 
ment devised by General Grant for the purpose of 



seizing the South Side Railroad, it moved to the 
Vaughan road, across Hatcher's Run, and pushed on 
to the Boydton plank road, where General Hancock 
halted, according to orders. Presently Generals 
Grant and Meade came on the field, examined the 
situation, and informed him that Crawford's divis- 
ion of the Fifth Corps was coming up Hatcher's 
run, the design being that the Second Corps should 
connect with it. General Grant then departed, in- 
structing General Hancock to hold his position. 
Hardly had Generals Grant and Meade left the field 
when a sharp attack was made on Hancock's right, 
which speedily brought on a general engagement. 
At an angle between the plank road and the line of 
march followed by the Second Corps there were 
grouped together ambulances, led horses, artillery 
and a mass of valuable material, and the attack in 
question brought the enemy straight upon this loot, 
which stood a good chance of being immediately 
captured. Fortunately General De Trobriand's bri 
gade chanced to be in a position where it could 
open a brisk fire upon the enemy, and, as one bat- 
tery managed to cut loose from the rest of the 
material in question, all was saved. Just at this 
moment a cunningly devised attack on the enemy's 
rear under the direct orders of General Hancock 
resulted in the complete confusion and defeat of 
the Confederates, with the loss of two colors and 
nearly two thousand prisoners. 

It was immediately after this that Major Mit- 
chell, General Hancock's senior aide-de-camp, led the 
Thirty-sixth Wisconsin veterans against a portion of 
the enemy's force, which was disposed on the Boyd- 
ton plank road, and drove it from this position, cap- 
turing one color and about two hundred prisoners. 

But in the mean time no connection with Craw, 
ford had been effected ; General Hancock received 
information from General Meade that the enemy was 
concentrating in force against him ; and, to crown 
all, his ammunition fell short — that which he should 
have had having been detained by orders, and being 
now thirteen miles in his rear. Under all these cir- 
cumstances, and having under his command a large 
and valuable cavalry force, which his infantry, with- 
out ammunition, could not support, General Hancock 
concluded to withdraw. The movement was suc- 
cessfully effected, and it was discovered at a later 
period that, had he not proceeded as he did, he would 
have been overwhelmed in the morning. 

The action at the Boydton road was in the high- 
est degree a testimonial to the masterly skill and 
generalship of Hancock, who, but for the application 
of these qualities, would have unquestionably been 
unable to extricate his comimnd from this most 
dangerous situation. Largely outnumbered by the 
enemy, without ammunition, it seemed almost as if 
his long and brilliant career with the Second Corps 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



17 



was about to close in utter misfortune. But the 
profound and unerring sagacity and foresight, whicli 
have always sustained him in emergencies, protected 



General Hancock on this occasion, and enabled him 
to retire with eclat from what might have been defeat 
and almost annihilation. 



PART V. 

AFTER THE WAR. 



The Second Corps returned to the lines in front 
of Petersburg, October 28, 1864, and on November 
20th General Hancock relinquished its command, 
being ordered to Washington and appointed to form 
the First Veteran Corps, by enlistment. He arrived 
in Washington on November 27th, and continued in 
this service until the end of the following February, 
when, at a special Cabinet meeting, at which General 
Hancock was present, he was requested to take com- 
mand of the Middle Military Division, headquarters 
at Winchester, Virginia. This command occupied 
General Hancock's attention until immediately after 
the occurrence of that terrible catastrophe, the assas- 
sination of President Lincoln, on the night of April 
14, 1865, when he was directed to take charge of 
the capital, under the following order from the War 
Department : 

" War Department, Washington City, April 25, 1865. 
" General : Your headquarters having been es- 
tablished in Washington, you will please consider 
yourself specially charged with the security of the 
capital, the public archives, and the public property 
therein, and with the necessary protection to the 
President, the officers of the Government, and the 
loyal citizens. The following subjects are especially 
recommended to your attention : 

" 1. The condition of the forts and defensive 
works. 

" 2. The organization, proper discipline, and man- 
agement of an adequate military force, to act as a 
mounted military police at all times, day and night, 
within the city, for the purpose of guarding against 
assassination, and of arresting offenders.' 

" 3. You are also directed to giye special at- 
tention to the employment of your "force in the ar- 
rest of the persons who were recently engaged in 
the murder of President Lincoln, and the attempted 
assassination of the Secretary of State, taking all 
proper measures for their detection and to prevent 
their escape. 

" 4. All othe^ matters essential to the security 
and peace of your con*iand. 

" In the abllpce of Lieutenant-General Grant, 
you will report to the Secretary of War daily, for 
any instructions he may have to give. 



" You will acknowledge the receipt of these in- 
structions. 

" Your obedient servant, 
(Signed) " Edwin M. Stanton, 

" Secretary of War. 

" Major-Geneeal W. S. Hancock, Z>iwsiow Commander, 
Headquarters, Middle Military Division, April 28, 
1865." 

THE SURRATT CASE. 

It will be observed that, in the order removing 
General Hancock's headquarters to Washington, 
special directions were given, having relation to the 
assassination of President Lincoln. It will thus be 
seen at the outset that, with whatever proceedings 
might take place subsequently under military law 
in regard to this crime, General Hancock, as the 
highest military officer in command in the District, 
must necessarily have a very close and important 
relation. All the forces within his division, includ- 
ing those who guarded Mrs. Surratt, were under 
General Hancock's command ; and when the order 
for her execution was issued by the President, it 
was addressed to General Hancock, in accordance 
with military usage ; the order, however, being 
transmitted by the latter to General Hartranft, then 
the governor of the military prison, and custodian 
of the prisoners incarcerated prior to execution for 
the assassination. 

The historical facts with regard to Mrs. Surratt's 
trial and condemnation and execution are so well 
known, and have been so often related, that it would 
almost seem unnecessary at this late day to re- 
call their nature for the purpose of relieving any 
one of odium incurred by his part of the responsi- 
bility. 

Among reasoning men no such odium has ever 
fallen upon General Hancock, but, as a portion of 
the current campaign ammunition, the story has been 
tortured into such a shape as might reflect upon 
him, and as a simple explanation will satisfy any 
one with regard to the nature of his connection with 
this sad affair, it is proper that it should be given 
in this place. Mrs. Surratt having been tried, con- 
demned, and sentenced by a military court, with 
whose proceedings General Hancock had nothing 



18 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



■whatever to do, was imprisoned in charge of General 
Hartranft, governor of the prison, who had been 
appointed a special provost-marshal-general to at- 
tend the military commission and execute its sen- 
tences. A writ of habeas corpus having been issued 
by Judge Wylie, of the United States District 
Court, in the case of Mrs. Surratt, and made return- 
able at 10 A. M. on the day of the execution, this 
writ was formally placed in the hands of General 
Hancock as the officer in command of the divis- 
ion. He promptly transmitted it by the hands of 
the Secretary of War to the President of the United 
States, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, for his 
action. The writ being suspended, and this act of 
suspension endorsed upon it by the President, it was 
returned to General Hancock, as military command- 
er, with orders to cause the execution to be pro- 
ceeded with as originally ordered. Accompanied by 
the Attorney-General of the United States, General 
Hancock appeared before Judge Wylie, in the 
United States District Court, and made return of 
the writ to the Judge, who released him (General 
Hancock) from further attendance on the court, and, 
assigning his reasons, declined to take any further 
action in the case. What had occurred having prac- 
tically prohibited the civil authorities from further 
interference, the military officers were obliged to 
proceed under the orders of the President of the 
United States, Commander-in-Chief of the Army. 

Thus far it will be seen that everything was con- 
ducted after the customary formalities. It is a fact, 
however, that from the beginning General Hancock 
did all in his power to forward the hopes of Mrs. Sur- 
ratt and her friends, and to facilitate their efforts to 
obtain a reprieve. As there was a bare possibility 
that other writs might be issued, or even that a re- 
prieve might come at the last moment, addressed to 
him. General Hancock went to the arsenal, where the 
prisoners were confined, and remained there until 
after the execution. He not only did this, but he 
stationed couriers at different points between the 
White House and the arsenal, that any intelligence 
of a reprieve or other favorable orders might be 
conveyed to him with the greatest possible speed 
and certainty. As is now a matter of history, no- 
thing of this character was done, and the executions 
proceeded under the immediate direction of General 
Hartranft, governor of the prison. 

THE EXECUTION. 

On the morning of the execution of Mrs. Surratt, 
her daughter visited General Hancock and implored 
his advice and counsel in this moment of her extreme 
misery and anguish. Receiving her in the kindest 
manner, though, of course, exhibiting in his serious 
mien how deeply he was impressed with the responsi- 
bilities of the occasion, General Hancock counseled 



the unhappy young lady to go at once to the Execu- 
tive Mansion and throw herself upon the mercy of the 
President. Her effort to this effect proved fruitless, 
and when at length it became evident that there 
could no longer be hope of the receipt of a pardon 
or reprieve for her mother. General Hancock offici- 
ally notified Miss Surratt of the fact. With this act 
ended his connection with the case. The best evi- 
dence of the perfect legitimacy and propriety, and 
even kindness of General Hancock's actions through- 
out this melancholy affair, is found in the fact that all 
of Mrs. Surratt's friends, her counsel, and the lead- 
ing dignitaries of the Roman Catholic Church have 
always conceded the purely perfunctory nature of 
General Hancock's relation to the execution. His 
Grace, the Archbishop of Baltimore, then the high- 
est Catholic official in the United States, expressed 
his appreciation of the justice, delicacy, and kindness 
exhibited by General Hancock during the progress 
of the trial and execution, and completely exonerated 
him from having had any other or less satisfactory 
connection with it. 

The next duty which fell to the charge of Gen- 
eral Hancock led him to the city of Baltimore, 
where, throughout the war, had existed a state of 
feeling most inimical to the cause of the Union, and 
where, at this time (July, 1865), it became desirable 
to have as commander of the Middle Military De- 
partment an officer who should be the most compe- 
tent to reconcile existing differences, and restore a 
pleasant state of public feeling. The selection 
proved to be a most excellent one for precisely this 
purpose ; as in all the circumstances of his varied 
and eventful life. General Hancock at once estab- 
lished a reputation for sense of justice, courtesy, 
and dignity of manners, while his wise and mag- 
nanimous method of administration succeeded in 
establishing a state of good feeling and harmoni- 
ousness which had not by any means before existed. 
In fact. General Hancock's success in Maryland ac- 
tuated his appointment to another department, where 
a similar condition of things existed as he had found 
there when he had first made his headquarters at 
Baltimore. 

DEPARTMENT OF MISSOURI. 

In August, 1860, he was transferred to the De- 
partment of Missouri, with headquarters at Fort 
Leavenworth. Here the relations of the " Home 
Guards " and the returning volunteers were of the 
most unsatisfactory nature, and an exasperated situ- 
ation existed, which required a firm, judicious, and 
yet kindly handling to restore peace. It was a most 
responsible and difficult position, and made demands 
upon all of General Hancock's remarkable qualities 
of self-control and personal influence over others 
to quiet the tendency to actual outbreak. Keeping 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



19 



the military power, however, as far as possible in 
the background, and extending the weight of his 
important influence to aid the civil authorities in 
maintaining peaceful relations, he succeeded in bring- 
ing about the desired result. 

During the autumn and winter of 1866, the In- 
dians in Kansas and the Indian Territory began to 
be turbulent, and frequent disturbances occurred 
between them and the settlers. Very few, except 
those who were actual witnesses of the condition of 
things at this time, could imagine the hideous cruel- 
ties and the general savagery which characterized 
the Indians in their treatment of unprotected set- 
tlers. To murder these harmless and industrious 
people, burn their houses and the bodies of their 
victims on the ruins of the latter, furnished pastime 
to these wretched savages. Robbing, burning, and 
despoiling, with frightful mutilation added as a 
special horror, were constant occurrences. 

Besides this, the eastern division of the Kansas 
Pacific Railroad was then under construction, and 
the dangerous interruption of its building, with the 
fact that stages were stopped and robbed, and pas- 
sengers murdered, unless accompanied by a strong 
guard of soldiers, altogether afforded, clearly, rea- 
son enough for the interposition of a positive exhi- 
bition of military force. 

Early in the spring of 1867, Lieutenant-General 
Sherman directed General Hancock to organize an 
expeditionary force of troops to enter the country 
occupied by the Cheyennes, Kiowas, Apaches of the 
plains, and Arrapahoes — the warlike tribes — and, 
with a strong demonstration, assure them that the 
continuance of depredations such as had been going 
on would be followed by immediate war. Accord- 
ingly General Hancock started from Fort Riley, Kan- 
sas, March 26, 1867, with about 1,400 men — cavalry, 
infantry, and artillery. Near the mouth of the Paw- 
nee Fork, on the 12th of April following. General Han- 
cock held a council with some of the leading Cheyenne 
chiefs, to whom he declared explicitly the intentions 
of the Government regarding them, assuring them 
that if they meant peace they could have it, but 
that they could be no longer permitted to continue 
the course they had been recently following. They 
must abandon their attacks upon the settlers on the 



frontier, and their interference with stages and the 
construction of railroads. This council was to have 
been followed two days later by another, and for 
that purpose General Hancock moved his command 
to the Cheyenne village, situated on the Pawnee 
Fork, about twenty-five miles above Fort Larned. 
Encamping within a short distance of the village 
which was occupied by Cheyennes and a large band of 
Sioux, the General gave strict orders that the Indians 
should not be molested, nor their property touched. 
A council had been arranged to occur on the follow- 
ing day, the 15th of April, but during the night of 
the 14th all the warriors abandoned their village 
and struck out northward in the direction of the 
Smoky Hill and Republican Rivers ; they attacked 
the mail-stations on the Denver Road, and working- 
parties on the Kansas Pacific Railway, ran off stock, 
killed and wounded a number of men, and commit- 
ted every possible depredation. Justly incensed 
with the deception and renewed cruelties on the 
part of the Indians, General Hancock sent General 
Custer after them with a force of cavalry. Custer 
failed to come up with them for some reason, and 
on his returning and making a report to that effect, 
General Hancock ordered the destruction of the 
Indian village as a suitable punishment for the 
treachery that had been shown by the Indians. He, 
however, had the few old people and sick, who were 
left behind by the warriors, removed from the vil- 
lage and properly cared for. 

The war which had thus been begun by the Indians 
was now continued vigorously by General Hancock, 
and after he left the department it was prosecuted 
by General Sheridan with determination, until the 
winter of 1868-'69. Many lives were lost on both 
sides, much property was destroyed, and the settle- 
ment of the country was retarded ; but a peace was 
eventually conquered which could only have been 
effected by vigorous prosecution of the war for the 
purpose. 

On September 12, 1867, General Hancock re- 
ceived orders from the President of the United 
States transferring him from the command of the 
Department of Missouri to that of the Fifth Military 
District, which comprised the States of Louisiana 
and Texas. 



PART YI. 

THE FIFTH MILITARY DISTRICT. 



The Reconstruction Acts passed by Congress ; dinarily unforgiving and obstructive character, pre- 
during the years 1867-'68 were three in number, vented the very result which, in pretense, they were 
Designedostensiblyfor the "Reconstruction" of the i designed to bring about. They divided the South- 
Southern States, they absolutely, by their extraor- ' ern States, in fact, into a series of military satra- 



20 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



pies, of which the States of Louisana and Texas 
formed one. These were termed military districts, 
and by virtue of the first Reconstruction Act were 
placed under the command of an officer appointed 
by the President of the United States, who should 
not be under the rank of brigadier-general. These 
commanders were given, subject to their own judg- 
ment and desire, absolute control and command 
over the States within their respective districts. 
While they were permitted, if they chose so to do, 
to submit cases in dispute to the civil courts or civil 
authorities, they could also, if they so elected, take 
control and jurisdiction of these themselves. They 
were empowered to appoint and remove civil officers, 
to override the decisions of the courts, to control 
the selection of jurors, and, in fact, had absolute 
and unbounded authority. The nature of the acts 
under which these districts were organized was 
known by its f ramers to be in direct opposition to 
the intentions of President Lincoln, and to his the- 
ory of reconstruction ; the latter being simply, that 
by the conclusion of the war, the ancient status of 
the republic had been restored ; that the seceded 
States, having failed to achieve their purpose, had 
actually never been outside the Union ; consequently, 
that the laws previously in force in those States, 
were still in force, and could be sufficiently relied 
upon for the conduct of their government. Had 
Lincoln lived, no such outrageous schemes for the 
destruction of the legal existence of the States 
within their constitutional rights would have been 
permitted. The Radicals in Congress, who had re- 
sisted the conclusion of the war to the last, that 
their pockets and their ambition might be to the 
fullest extent satisfied, now equally resisted the res- 
toration of peace on a footing of equal justice to 
all, for the same reason. 

Of course, in the selection of commanders of the 
Southern military districts, care was taken to choose 
only those who, it was believed, could be depended 
upon to carry out the designs of the radical politi- 
cians in power at Washington. It is certain that 
General Hancock was approached by emissaries of 
these men, and efforts made to induce him to com- 
mit himself to their policy before he assumed his 
command. It might readily be supposed that no 
such effort could effect the desired result in his case. 
Immediately on receiving the order transferring him 
fro"m the Department of Missouri, General Hancock 
set out for New Orleans, and, on reaching St. Louis, 
was met by a telegram ordering him to Washington. 
After remaining there some time, he returned to St. 
Louis ; but, as the yellow fever had become threat- 
ening in New Orleans, he did not start for his new 
command until the latter part of November, and 
arrived in New Orleans and relieved General Mow- 
er, then in command, on the 29th of that month. 



While on the boat going down the Mississippi, Gen- 
eral Hancock conceived and himself wrote out his 
celebrated Order No. 40, which he handed to his 
principal aide-de-camp. Colonel Mitchell, to be put in 
form for publication after his arrival. This order 
was so important, and was also so characteristic of 
the General, in indicating his view of the relations 
between the civil and military law, that it must find 
a place here in full : 

" ORDER NO. 40." 

" Headqttaktbrs, Fifth Militaet District, 

'• New Orleans, La., Noveinher 29, 1S6T. 
" General Orders, No. 40. 

" I. In accordance with General Orders, No. 81, 
Headquarters of the Army, Adjutant-General's Of- 
fice, Washington, D. C. August 27, 1867, Major- 
General W. S. Hancock hereby assumes command 
of the Fifth Military District, and of the Depart- 
ment composed of the States of Louisiana and 
Texas. 

" II. The General Commanding is gratified to 
learn that peace and quiet reign in this Department. 
It will be his purpose to preserve this condition of 
things. As a means to this great end, he regards 
the maintenance of the civil authorities in the 
faithful execution of the laws as the most efficient 
under existing circumstances. 

"In war it is indispensable to repel force by force, 
and to overthrow and destroy opposition to lawful 
authority ; but when insurrectionary force has been 
overthrown and peace established, and the civil 
authorities are ready and willing to perform their 
duties, the military power should cease to lead, and 
the civil administration resume its natural and rights 
ful dominion. Solemnly impressed with these views, 
the General announces that the great principles of 
American liberty are still the lawful inheritance of 
this people, and ever should be. The right of trial 
by jury, the habeas corpus, the liberty of the press, 
the freedom of speech, the natural rights of persons, 
and the rights of property must be preserved. 

" Free institutions, while they are essential to 
the prosperity and happiness of the people, always 
furnish the strongest inducements to peace and 
order. Crimes and offenses committed in this Dis- 
trict must be referred to the consideration and judg- 
ment of the regular civil tribunals, and those tribu- 
nals will be supported in their lawful jurisdiction. 

" Should there be violations of existing laws 
which are not inquired into by the civil magistrates, 
or should failures in the administration of justice by 
the courts be complained of, the cases will be re- 
ported to these headquarters, when such orders will 
be made as may be deemed necessary. 

" While the General thus indicates his purpose 
to respect the liberties of the people, he wishes all 



LIFE OP WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



21 



to understand that armed insurrection or forcible 
resistance to the law will be instantly suppressed by 
arms." 

The publication of this order not only quieted 
the apprehensions of the inhabitants of Louisiana 
and Texas, who, with those of the other States lately 
in rebellion, had come to the conclusion that there 
was no further hope for them within the Union, but 
it aroused a feeling of respect and warm admiration 
for General Hancock's personal character and his 
elevated magnanimity, which has existed ever since. 
In fact, brief reflection upon the condition of the 
times will show to the reader the extraordinary moral 
courage which it required to publicly announce such 
a course of conduct as General Hancock had laid 
out for himself in the administration of the affairs 
of his new command. The radicals found no diffi- 
culty in the conduct of those who represented their 
so-called Reconstruction Acts in the other military dis- 
tricts of the South. Without entering into the broad 
question of the actual deserts of the Southern peo- 
ple in the premises, it is certain that, except by im- 
prisonment or extermination, no more harsh action 
iu regard to them could have been carried out than 
was, as a rule, by the commanders of military dis- 
tricts, acting under the authority of Congress. But 
while General Hancock recognized the authority of 
Congress, he also saw, what others ignored, that 
these acts permitted a latitude and a dependence 
upon personal judgment in the application of them, 
under which he could legitimately exercise his func- 
tions with some regard to the demands of generous 
impulses and a soldier's mode of contemplating a 
fallen foe. And to show that this latitude of ad- 
ministration grew to be more and more demanded 
by the Northern people as the true nature of the 
acts became known to them through the general 
character of their administration, we may quote 
Section XI of the third and last of these acts, passed 
in 1868, after General Hancock's removal from the 
Fifth Military District, which reads as follows : 

" Section XI. And be it further enacted, That all 
the provisions of this act, and all the acts of which 
this is supplementary, shall be construed liberally, 
to the end that all the intents thereof may be fully 
and perfectly carried out." 

It is, indeed, a curious fact in the history of the 
period that the concluding section of the act of Con- 
gress, passed subsequent to the removal of General 
Hancock, should have practically endorsed the very 
course of conduct for which he was so removed. 

AFFAIRS IN LOUISIANA AND TEXAS. 

Meanwhile, and during the few months of his 
stay in Louisiana, General Hancock was beset by 
numerous demands and requests, on the part of offi- 
cials and private persons alike, many of which were 



nefarious, grasping, and altogether outrageous in 
their character, and concerning which it must have 
required a degree of technical skill and an amount 
of knowledge of the principles of common and 
statute law such as no one would for a moment ex- 
pect an officer of the army to possess. Hardly an 
application was made to him as commander of the 
Fifth Military District for the exercise of his powers 
that had not a job, or a desire for vengeance or 
personal animosity behind it. He was invited to 
charter railroads, to remove obnoxious officials, to 
interfere with the law of the State with regard to 
the appointment of jurors, to override State law al- 
together and supplement it by military law — actual- 
ly, in the State of Louisiana, where, less than half a 
century before, Edward Livingston had prepared a 
code of law whose wisdom and philanthropy com- 
bined were such that its existence influenced legis- 
lation in many countries — in this State a general, 
high in command in the army of the republic, was 
expected and invited to override all State law, and 
supply its place with the edicts of a satrap issued 
from militaiy headquarters. 

Against all such schemes and devices as we have 
indicated, and every effort to turn the course of his 
administration from what he deemed to be just and 
right. General Hancock sternly set his face ; and so 
shrewd and well devised were the methods with 
which he confronted the plans of those who would 
have enriched themselves, or satisfied their ambi- 
tious desires at the expense of the people of Louis- 
iana and Texas, that these latter were almost en- 
tirely nullified, and no act of injustice or official 
impropriety was permitted during his period of 
command. This course naturally won to him the 
regard and esteem of the people whom he governed 
so justly and generously ; and, indeed, when the 
nature of his administration came to be understood 
throughout the country, his popularity became un- 
bounded among the most intelligent and well mean- 
ing of the population. North or South. 

INTERFERENCE FROM WASHINGTON. 

But this state of things did not in the least accord 
with the intentions of the radicals in Washington. 
As General Hancock's increasing populai'ity seemed 
to threaten their ambitious schemes, and as there 
even appeared to be a gradually awakening inten- 
tion to make him a candidate for nomination to the 
Presidency, it became obvious to his enemies that 
he must be suppressed at all hazards, or placed 
where his acts could not interfere with their pro- 
jects. The first movement in this direction was 
made by James A. Garfield, Chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Military Aiiairs of the House of Represen- 
tatives, who introduced a bill into Congress, to re- 
duce the number of major-generals in the army. 



22 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



As an evidence of the animus of General Gar- 
field, and his manner of considering the patriotic 
services of General Hancock, who, he concedes, 
"bears honorable scars earned in battle for the 
Union," we quote the following: 

House of Representatives, January 17, 1868. — Con- 
sideration of the Supplementary Reconstruction 
Act. 

" Mr. Speaker, I will not repeat the long cata- 
logue of obstructions which he [the President] has 
thrown in the way by virtue of the power conferred 
upon him in the Reconstruction laws of 1867, but 
I will allude to one example where he has found in 
a major-general of the army a facile instrument with 
which more effectually to obstruct the work of re- 
construction. This case is all the more painful be- 
cause an otherwise meritorious oflScer, who bears 
honorable scars earned in battle for the Union, has 
been made a party to the political madness which 
lias so long marked the conduct of the President. 
This general was sent into the district of Louisiana 
and Texas with a law of Congress in his hand — a 
law that commands him to see that justice is ad- 
ministered among the people of that country, and 
that no pretense of civil authority shall deter him 
from performing his duty ; and yet we find that 
officer giving lectures, in the form of proclamations 
and orders, on what ought to be the relation be- 
tween the civil and military departments of the 
Government. We see him issuing a general order 
in which he declares that the civil should not give 
way before the military. We hear him declaring 
that he finds nothing in the laws of Louisiana and 
Texas to warrant his interference in the civil ad- 
ministration of those States. It is not for him to 
say which should be first, the civil or the military, 
in that rebel community. It is not for him to search 
the defunct laws of Louisiana and Texas for a 
guide to his conduct. It is for him to obey the 
laws which he was sent there to execute. . . . Does 
anybody expect that we will permit an officer of our 
army to fling back in our faces his contempt of our 
laws, and tell us what ought to be and what ought 
not to be ? " 

This bill was avowedly offered with the purpose 
of ousting General Hancock, and was only not pressed 
to a passage because those who favored it became 
satisfied that such a course would be dangerous, and 
likely to excite public feeling in favor of the officer 
thus persecuted, to the ultimate damage of his ene- 
mies. Determined, however, to effect their purpose, 
thus inimical to General Hancock's administration 
of affairs in the Fifth Military District, his enemies 
proceeded to inaugurate a series of petty and mali- 
cious acts of interference with his government. 



which tended to place him in a false position before 
those under his rule, and to bring about conflicts of 
jurisdiction which could not but prove detrimental 
to his influence and his power. The result of a 
continued course of this petty treatment was what 
had doubtless been foreseen. General Hancock 
found that his usefulness at New Orleans had be- 
come so impaired that he concluded to resign. A 
case occurring in connection with the removal from 
office by General Hancock, in accordance with the 
authority conferred upon him by the Reconstruction 
Acts, of certain public officials, occasioned on his 
part the following letter of resignation : 

"Headquarters, Fifth Military Distriot, 

" New Orleans, La., February 2T, 1867. 

" To Brevet Major-General L. Thomas, 

" Adjutant- Genei-al, U.S.A., Washington, D.C.: 
" General : I have the honor to transmit here- 
with copies of my correspondence with the General- 
in-Chief in reference to my recent action concerning 
the removal from office of certain aldermen in the 
city of New Orleans, made by me ' for contempt of 
the orders of the district commander.' I request 
that the same may, in an appropriate manner — as 
explanatory of my action, and for his information — 
be laid before his Excellency, the President of the 
United States ; with this my request to be relieved 
from the command of this military district, where it 
is no longer useful or agreeable for me to serve. 
When relieved, should the exigencies of the service 
permit, it would be most in accordance with my in- 
clinations to be sent to St. Louis, Mo., there to 
await further orders. I am, very respectfully, 
" Your obedient servant, 

"W. S. Hancock, 3fajoi-- General." 

general HANCOCK RELIEVED. 

In response to this request, General Hancock was 
relieved of his command at New Orleans, on the 
16th of March, 1868. Pending the arrival at New 
Orleans of orders from Washington to this effect. 
General Hancock took the opportunity to reply at 
considerable length to a communicaiton which had 
been addressed to him by E. M. Pease, Governor of 
Texas, on January 17th, and which was part of a 
correspondence resulting from an application pre- 
viously made by Governor Pease in writing. This 
application was for the appointment of military 
commissions to try certain offenders against the 
civil law in the State of Texas, and was denied by 
General Hancock, in consistent agreement with his 
entire course while in New Orleans. In his letter 
of January 17th, Governor Pease took exception to 
the views expressed by General Hancock, contra- 
dicted his statements of fact, giving a grossly ex- 
aggerated account of the state of public morals in 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



23 



Texas, and harshly and impudently rated General 
Hancock for disagreeing with his line of argument. 
It was to this letter that General Hancock, having 
some spare time on his hands, wrote his reply of 
March 9th. It is impossible to present this letter 
here in full, and although there is hardly any writer 
in the land who offers such facilities for quotation 
as General Hancock, it would be doing him an in- 
justice to print much in the way of extract from 
such a communication. We can not, however, re- 
frain from culling from it a few gems ; for instance : 

" My dear sir, I am not a lawyer, nor has it been 
my business, as it may have been yours, to study 
the philosophy of statecraft and politics. But I 
may lay claim, after an experience of more than half 
a lifetime, to some poor knowledge of men, and some 
appreciation of what is necessary to social order and 
happiness. And for the future of our common coun- 
try, I could devoutly wish that no great number of 
our people have yet fallen in with the views you 
appear to entertain. Woe be to us whenever it 
shall come to pass that the power of the magistrate 
— civil or military — is permitted to deal with the 
mere opinions or feelings of the people ! I have 
been accustomed to believe that sentiments of re- 
spect or disrespect, and feelings of affection, love, 
or hatred, so long as not developed into acts in 
violation of the law, were matters wholly beyond 
the punitory power of human tribunals. I will 
maintain that the entire freedom of thought and 
speech, however acrimoniously indulged in, is con- 
sistent with the noblest aspirations of man, and the 
happiest condition of the race. . . . 

" Power may destroy the forms, but not the prin- 
ciples of justice ; these will live in spite even of the 
sword. History tells us that the Roman Pandects 
were lost for a long period among the rubbish that 
war and revolution had heaped upon them, but at 
length were dug out of the ruins — again to be re- 
garded as a precious treasure." 

Before closing the record of General Hancock's 
government of the Fifth Military District, it is proper 
to say that the President of the United States fully 
recognized the wisdom and integrity of his adminis- 
tration, and to recall the fact that in a special mes- 
sage to both Houses of Congress, dated December 
18, 1867, he suggested that " some public recogni- 
tion of General Hancock's patriotic conduct was 
due, if not to him, to the friends of law and justice 
throughout the country." One quotation from this 
message will indicate the nature of this high com- 
pliment : 

THE president's MESSAGE. 

" When a great soldier, with unrestricted power in 
his hands to oppress his fellow-men, voluntarily fore- 
goes the chance of gratifying his selfish ambition, 



and devotes himself to the duty of building up the 
liberties and strengthening the laws of his country, 
he presents an example of the highest public virtue 
that human nature is capable of practicing. The 
strongest claim of Washington to be ' fii'st in war, 
first in peace, and first in the hearts of his country- 
men,' is founded on the great fact that in all his 
illustrious career he scrupulously abstained from 
violating the legal and constitutional rights of his 
fellow-citizens. When he surrendered his commis- 
sion to Congress, the president of that body spoke 
his highest praise in saying that he had ' always re- 
garded the rights of the civil authorities through all 
dangers and disasters.' Whenever power above the 
law courted his acceptance, he calmly put the temp- 
tation aside. By such magnanimous acts of for- 
bearance he won the universal admiration of man- 
kind, and left a name which has no rival in the 
history of the world." 

We have quoted thus much from this flattering 
message, because it supplies an index to the nature 
and methods of General Hancock's acts while in 
command of the Fifth Military District. No part of 
his public life has had a more direct bearing than 
this on those questions which should chiefly be con- 
sidered in the choice of men for high executive 
oflSce. Courage and generalship are requisite and 
eflBcient in times of war alone ; but the power, wis- 
dom, and goodness which combine in perfect civil 
government are qualities upon which those who 
govern must rely at all times and in all seasons. 
In proving by his past conduct the possession of 
these qualities, in the case of General Hancock, we 
best display his admirable adaptation to the prime 
wants of the American people. 

On March 31, 1868, General Hancock assumed 
command of the Division of the Atlantic, covering 
an enormous territory east of the Mississippi. Dem- 
ocratic politics this year began to feel the impress 
of General Hancock's growing influence in the coun- 
try, and at the Democratic Convention, held in New 
York, July 4th, to nominate a candidate for Presi- 
dent, he received votes rising from 33i to 144|, 
when certain political influences intervened, and 
Horatio Seymour was nominated. During the years 
1868-69 nothing of importance in a military way 
occurred in General Hancock's command, and on the 
20th of March of the latter year he was ordered to 
the Department of Dakota, making his headquarters 
at St. Paul, Minnesota. He remained in this com- 
mand until November 25, 1872, when he was re- 
stored to the Division of the Atlantic. 

This year occurred another Presidential election, 
and General Hancock's name was freely canvassed 
for the nomination by the Democratic party. It 
was concluded, however, to offer a compromise can- 
didate, and Horace Greeley was nominated by the 



24 



LIFE OF WIXFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



Liberal Republicans and Democrats at their conven- 
tions in Cincinnati and Baltimore. The compro- 
mise proved a disastrous failure, and Mr. Greeley, 
who was defeated, died soon after the election, a 
victim to chagrin and a keen sense of injustice ex- 
perienced at the hands of the party which he had so 
long and faithfully served. Had General Hancock 
desired to run at this election, he could have been 
easily nominated. Pennsylvania was solid for him, 
and his popularity throughout the country had con- 
tinued to increase during the previous few years. 

In December, 1875, occurred the scandal of the 
St. Louis whisky ring, in connection with which 
General Babcock, private secretary to President 
Grant, had the misfortune to fall under suspicion. 
At his request, a military court of inquiry was con- 
vened at Chicago, which included as members, Gen- 
erals Sheridan, Hancock, and Terry, General Sheri- 
dan being president. The court assembled on De- 
cember 9th, and, on the following day, learning that 
the case of General Babcock was being tried by the 
civil authorities at St. Louis, General Hancock ad- 
dressed the court in an eloquent and eminently ju- 
dicial speech, recommending an adjournment, pend- 
ing the result of the St. Louis investigation. The 
court accordingly adjourned. General Babcock was 
indicted by the Grand Jury in St. Louis, tried, and 
acquitted. In General Hancock's address to the 
Chicago Court of Inquiry, he once again furnished 
strong testimony to the character of his opinions in 
regard to the relations of civil and military law — so 
strong, in fact, that his views were at once adopted, 
as is shown by the adjournment of the Court. 

1876 THE ELECTORAL VOTE. 

This brings us to the important year 1876, when 
occurred the disputed Presidential election, accom- 
panied by intense excitement throughout the coun- 
try, and which has now become part of history. 



After the election, and while the question of the 
electoral vote was still pending, and no satisfactory 
conclusion had yet been reached by the different 
party leaders as to the legal or proper method of 
counting the votes, a correspondence occurred be- 
tween General Sherman and General Hancock, in the 
course of which the latter wrote his celebrated " Ca- 
rondelet letter," of December 28th. The importance 
of this letter in its relation to the events of the pres- 
ent year — 1880 — can hardly be overestimated. Some 
intimation of its having been wi'itten became noised 
about among the radical politicians during this year, 
the result being that an entire misapprehension of 
its nature was ignorantly or intentionally circulated 
to the detriment of General Hancock. It was al- 
leged by the Republican journals that the letter con- 
tained treasonable utterances ; that it asserted the 
conviction of the writer of the election of Samuel J. 
Tilden to the Presidency, and his intention to obey 
him as Commander-in-Chief of the army, providing 
Mr. Tilden should see fit to issue any orders in 
that capacity. The general circulation which these 
charges gained through the medium of the Republi- 
can press at length made it imperative that the 
friends of General Hancock should insist on the 
publication of the letter, and at once set at rest these 
slanders and frivolous misstatements. The editor 
of the New York "World" took the matter in 
hand with great energy and enterprise, and dis- 
patched a special messenger to search for General 
Sherman, to obtain his permission. After much 
time and labor, the General of the Army was found 
attending to his military duties in the distant Terri- 
tory of Dakota. Appreciating the propriety of the 
request, he at once gave full permission for the 
publication of the letter, and it accordingly ap- 
peared in the columns of the " World," and, by the 
courtesy of that paper, in the other metropolitan 
journals. The following is the letter : 



PART YII. 

THE ''SHERMAN''' LETTER. 



" Cakondelet p. O., St. Louis, Mo., 

Decemher 28, 1876. 

" My Dear General : Your favor of the 4th in- 
stant reached me in New York on the 5th, the day 
before I left for the West. I intended to reply to 
it before leaving, but cares incident to departure 
interfered. Then again, since my arrival here I 
have been so occupied with personal affairs of a 
business nature that I have deferred writing from 
day to day until this moment, and now I find myself 



in debt to you another letter in acknowledgment of 
your favor of the 17th, received a few days since. 

"I have concluded to leave here on the 29th 
(to-morrow) p. m., so that I may be expected in New 
York on the 31st inst. It has been cold and dreary 
since my arrival here. I have worked ' like a Turk ' 
(I presume that means bard work) in the country, 
in making fences, cutting down trees, repairing 
buildings ; and am at least able to say that St. Louis 
is the coldest place in the winter, as it is the hot- 
test in summer, of any that I have encountered in a 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



25 



temperate zone. I have known St. Louis in Decem- 
ber to have genial weather throughout the month ; 
this December has been frigid, and the river has 
been frozen more solid than I have ever known 
it. 

" When I heard the rumor that I was ordered to 
the Pacific coast I thought it probably true, consid- 
ering the past discussion on that subject. The pos- 
sibilUies seemed to me to point that way. Had it 
been true I should, of course, have presented no 
complaint nor made resistance of any kind. I would 
have gone quietly, if not prepared to go promptly. 
I certainly would have been relieved from the re- 
sponsibility and anxieties concerning Presidential 
matters which may fall to those ' near the throne ' or 
in authority within the nest four months, as well as 
from other incidents or matters which I could not 
control, and the action concerning which I might not 
approve. I was not exactly prepared to go to the 
Pacific, however, and I therefore felt relieved when 
I received your note informing me that there was 
no truth in the rumors. 

" Then, I did not wish to appear to be escaping 
from responsibilities and possible dangers which 
may cluster around military commanders in the 
East, especially in the critical period fast approach- 
ing. ' All's well that end's well.' The whole matter 
of the Presidency seems to me to be simple, and to 
admit of a peaceful solution. The machinery for 
such a contingency as threatens to present itself 
has been all carefully prepared. It only requires 
lubrication, owing to disuse. The army should have 
nothing to do with the selection or inauguration of 
Presidents. The people elect the President. The 
Congress declares in a joint session who he is. We 
of the army have only to obey his mandates, and are 
protected in so doing only so far as they may be 
lawful. Our commissions express that. I like Jef- 
ferson's way of inauguration; it suits our system. 
He rode alone on horseback to the Capitol (I fear it 
was the ' Old Capitol '), tied his horse to a rail-fence, 
entered and was duly sworn, then rode to the Exec- 
utive Mansion and took possession. He inaugurated 
himself, simply by taking the oath of office. There 
is no other legal inauguration in our system. The 
people or politicians may institute parades in honor 
of the event, and public officials may add to the 
pageant by assembling troops and banners ; but all 
that only comes properly after the inauguration — 
not before it ; and it is not a part of it. Our sys- 
tem does not provide that one President should in- 
augurate another. There might be danger in that, 
and it was studiously left out of the charter. But 
you are placed in an exceptionally important posi- 
tion in connection with coming events. The capital 
is in my jurisdiction also ; but I am a subordinate, 
and not on the spot ; and if I were, so also would 



be my superior in authority, for there is the station 
of the General-in-Chief. 

" On the principle that a regularly elected Pres- 
ident's term of office expires with the 3d of March 
(of which I have not the slightest doubt), and which 
the laws bearing on the subject uniformly recognize, 
and in consideration of the possibility that the law- 
fully elected President may not appear until the 5tli 
of Marcb, a great deal of responsibility may neces- 
sarily fall upon you. You hold over! You will 
have power and prestige to support you. The Sec- 
retary of War, too, probably holds over ; but if no 
President appears, he may not be able to exercise 
functions in the name of a President, for his proper 
acts are those of a known superior — a lawful Pres- 
ident. You act on your own responsibility and by 
virtue of a commission, only restricted by the law. 
The Secretary of War is the mouthpiece of a Pres- 
ident. You are not. If neither candidate has a 
constitutional majority of the Electoral College, or 
the Senate and House on the occasion of the count 
do not unite in declaring some person legally elected 
by the people, there is a lawful machinery already 
provided to meet that contingency and decide the 
question peacefully. It has not been recently used, 
no occasion presenting itself, but our forefathers 
provided it. It has been exercised, and has been 
recognized and submitted to as lawful on every 
hand. That machinery would probably elect Mr. 
Tilden President, and Mr. Wheeler Vice-President. 
That would be right enough, for the law provides 
that, in a failure to elect duly by the people, the 
House shall immediately elect the President, and the 
Senate the Vice-President. Some tribunal must 
decide whether the people have duly elected a Pres- 
ident. I presume, of course, that it is in the joint 
affirmative action of the Senate and House, or why 
are they present to witness the count, if not to see 
that it is fair and just ? If a failure to agree arises 
between the two bodies, there can be no lawful 
affirmative decision that the people have elected a 
President, and the House must then proceed to act, 
not the Senate. The Senate elects Vice-Presidents, 
not Presidents. Doubtless, in case of a failure by the 
House to elect a President by the 4th of March, the 
President of the Senate (if there be one) would be 
the legitimate person to exercise Presidential author- 
ity for the time being, or until the appearance of a 
lawful President, or for the time laid down in the 
Constitution. Such courses would be peaceful, and, 
I have a firm belief, lawful. 

" I have no doubt Governor Hayes would make 
an excellent President. I have met him and know 
of him. For a brief period he served under my 
command, but as the matter stands I can't see any 
likelihood of his being duly declared elected by the 
people unless the Senate and House come to be in 



26 



LIFE OF WENFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



accord as to that fact, and the Fouse would of 
course not otherwise elect him. What the people 
want is a peaceful determination of this matter, as 
fair a determination as possible, and a lawful one. 
No other determination could stand the test. The 
country, if not plunged into revolution, would be- 
come poorer day by day, business would languish, 
and our bonds would come home to find a depre- 
ciated market. 

" I was not in favor of the military action in 
South Carolina recently, and if General Ruger had 
telegraphed to me or asked for advice, I would have 
advised him not, under any circumstances, to allow 
himself or his troops to determine who were the 
lawful members of a State Legislature. I could 
have given him no better advice than to refer him 
to the special message of the President in the case 
of Louisiana, some time before. 

" But in South Carolina he had the question 
settled by a decision of the Supreme Court of the 
State — the highest tribunal which had acted on the 
question — so that his line of duty seemed even to be 
clearer than the action in the Louisiana case. If 
the Federal court had interfered and overruled the 
decision of the State court, there might have been a 
doubt certainly, but the Federal court only inter- 
fered to complicate — not to decide or overrule. 

" Anyhow, it is no business of the army to enter 
upon such questions, and even if it might be so in 
any event, if the civil authority is supreme, as the 
Constitution declares it to be, the South Carolina 
case was one in which the army had a plain duty. 

"Had General Ruger asked me for advice, and if 
I had given it, I should of course have notified you 
of my action immediately, so that it could have been 
promptly overruled if it should have been deemed 
advisable by you or other superior in authority. 
General Ruger did not ask for my advice, and I in- 
ferred from that and other facts that he did not 
desire it, or that, being in direct communication 
with my military superiors at the seat of Govern- 
ment, who were nearer to him in time and distance 
than I was, he deemed it unnecessary. As General 
Ruger had the ultimate responsibility of action, and 
had really the greater danger to confront in the 
final action in the matter, I did not venture to em- 
barrass him by suggestions. He was a department 
commander and the lawful head of the military ad- 
ministration within the limits of the department ; 
but, besides, I knew that he had been called to Wash- 
ington for consultation before taking command, and 
was probably aware of the views of the Administra- 
tion as to civil affairs in his command. I knew that 
he was in direct communication with my superiors 
in authority in reference to the delicate subjects 
presented for his consideration, or had ideas of his 
own which he believed to be sufficiently in accord 



with the views of our common superiors to enable 
him to act intelligently according to his judgment, 
and without suggestions from those not on the spot 
and not as fully acquainted with the facts as him- 
self. He desired, too, to be free to act, as he had 
the eventual greater responsibility, and so the mat- 
ter was governed as between him and myself. 

" As I have been writing thus freely to you, I 
may still further unbosom myself by stating that 1 
have not thought it lawful or wise to use Federal 
troops in such matters as have transpired east of 
the Mississippi within the last few months, save as 
far as they may be brought into action under the 
Constitution, which contemplates meeting armed re- 
sistance or invasion of a State more powerful than 
the State authorities can subdue by the ordinary 
processes, and then only when requested by the 
Legislature, or, if it could not be convened in season, 
by the Governor ; and when the President of the 
United States intervenes in that manner, it is a state 
of war, not peace. 

" The army is laboring under disadvantages, and 
has been used unlawfully at times in the judgment 
of the people (in mine, certainly), and we have lost 
a great deal of the kindly feeling which the com- 
munity at large once felt for us. It is time to 
stop and unload. 

" Officers in command of troops often find it dif- 
ficult to act wisely and safely when superiors in au- 
thority have different views of the law from theirs, 
and when legislation has sanctioned action seemingly 
in conflict with the fundamental law, and they gen- 
erally defer to the known judgment of their superi- 
ors. Yet the superior ofiicers of the army are so 
regarded in such great crises, and are held to such 
responsibility, especially those at or near the head 
of it, that it is necessary on such momentous occa- 
sions to dare to determine for themselves what is 
lawful and what is not lawful under our system, if 
the military authorities should be invoked, as might 
possibly be the case in such exceptional times when 
there existed such divergent views as to the correct 
result. The army will suffer from its past action, if 
it has acted wrongfully. Our regular army has lit- 
tle hold upon the affections of the people of to-day, 
and its superior officers should certainly, as far as 
lies in their power, legally and with righteous intent, 
aim to defend the right, which to us is the law, 
and the institution which they represent. It is a 
well-meaning institution, and it would be well if it 
should have an opportunity to be recognized as a 
bulwark in support of the rights of the people and 

of THE LAW. 

" I am truly yours, 

" WiNFELD S. Hancock. 
" To General W. T. Sherman, commanding Army 
of the United States, Washington, D. C." 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



n 



PART VIII. 

THB SITUATION IN 1880. 



The question of the Presidential election being 
finally concluded by the appointment of the Elec- 
toral Commission, and its decision in favor of 
Rutherford B. Hayes, the country settled down to 
quietude, and the Republican press and leaders, tri- 
umphant over the success of their machinations, 
were loud in their predictions of a highly prosperous 
future. Such a condition of things was, indeed, ne- 
cessary, for, under Republican administration, since 
the financial panic of 1873 there had been a con- 
stantly increasing depression. Tens of thousands 
of well-to-do merchants had been utterly ruined ; 
the great factories and blast furnaces of the country 
were idle, to the extent of about two thirds of their 
whole number ; strikes were common events ; and 
it was generally believed that from three to four 
million workingmen were actually out of employ- 
ment. The whole country was overrun by tramps, 
who were robbing and burning wherever they could 
find opportunity ; these, however, being the off- 
scourings of large cities, always too lazy to work, 
and who took advantage of the situation to claim 
the reputation of honest workingmen. The loss by 
failures had trebled in four years ; prices were at 
their lowest notch ; hundreds of millions of prop- 
erty had been swept away by the depreciation of 
value, mainly in real estate ; Government bonds 
were coming home to us from Europe to the amount 
of many millions ; and the task which the election 
and inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes, was ex- 
pected to accomplish might justly be esteemed Her- 
culean. 

THE RAILROAD RIOTS. 

But the Republican predictions, being based upon 
nothing, came to nothing ; and the prevailing mis- 
ery and destitution soon began to exercise a de- 
structive influence, which culminated in July, 1877, 
in the terrible " Railroad Riots " which swept over 
the country like a plague. Nothing in the history 
of any civilized people ever exhibited anything of 
the nature of this outbreak. In seventy-two hours' 
time the transportation facilities of the greater por- 
tion of the country had become impeded, and busi- 
ness was at a standstill. One hundred thousand 
. railroad employees and forty thousand miners were 
on strike, the movement first occurring on July 14th, 
on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and other trunk 
lines following. Trains were stopped, railroad iron 
was torn up, and as soon as opposition to this revo- 
lutionary state of things occurred, the work of de- 
struction commenced ; an army of lazy, besotted 



tramps gathered together from all points of the 
compass, and congregated at the great railroad cen- 
ters. Pittsburgh was specially selected for the op- 
erations of this mob, and there incendiarism, rob- 
bery, and general spoliation were rife during this 
terrible period. Two thousand freight cars with 
their contents, and more than one hundred locomo- 
tives, were willfully destroyed. The direct loss of 
railroad property reached between eight and ten 
million dollars. But after the first paralysis, occa- 
sioned by the suddenness of the awakening of this 
destructive force, the authorities were not idle. Im- 
mediately the State militia was armed, equipped, 
and put in the field — only, however, to be fiercely 
combated with that extreme contempt which riot- 
ers invariably feel and express for volunteer sol- 
diery. The militia, however, did excellent service 
in many instances. It was not their fault that the 
feeling of respect for regular soldiers, always expe- 
rienced by mobs, should have been effectual in this 
case. 

In his capacity of Commander of the Military Divis- 
ion of the Atlantic, General Hancock, of course, had 
the entire direction of the Federal forces employed 
in the suppression of the riot. Making his headquar- 
ters at Philadelphia — after a brief visit to Balti- 
more, during which he arranged the service for the 
proper protection of that city — he gathered together 
from all parts of the country whatever military force 
he could command, and, as rapidly as transportation 
could be secured, placed the soldiers at threatened 
points, or at localities where outbreaks were already 
occurring and property in imminent danger. It 
happened that a large portion of the army was at 
this time scattered through the far West, and the 
war with the Nez Perces Indians was at that time 
going on ; the latter being commanded by Chief 
Joseph, and the Federal force in conflict with him 
under General Howard and Colonel Miles. It was, 
therefore, a matter of no little difficulty to obtain 
men in sufficient force to make even a demonstration 
of importance against the rioters, who were engaged 
at so many different points at once, including Chi- 
cago, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Albany, Philadelphia, Bal- 
timore, and other cities ; the strike of the miners, 
too, in the Pennsylvania coal regions, had assumed 
alarming proportions, and the whole question was 
one requiring, at the hands of the chief official en- 
gaged in its solution, the exhibition of rare and im- 
portant qualities. 

Of course, the readers of this book and those 
who have otherwise followed the life of General 



28 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



Hancock will have learned that to the hands of no 
other man in the country could have been more 
safely confided this precise emergency. The coolness 
and comprehensive judgment with which he effected 
the proper carrying out of exactly the orders 
needed for the occasion, could but result in the con- 
clusion so imminently necessary for the peace of the 
country and the renewal of action throughout the 
vast and complicated machinery of progress and 
advancement. It has been a most gratifying mem- 
ory to General Hancock, that the important purpose 
effected by the army under his command in 1877 
was accomplished without the loss of a man, and 
without the killing of a rioter. In fact, the moral 
influence of the mere presence of the United States 
soldiery accomplished the desired object in all in- 
stances without bloodshed; trains were run under 



guard of the Federal soldiers, unmolested ; at the 
sight of them the riotious demonstrations in large 
cities ceased, those engaged in them being appalled 
at the possibility of having to encounter the armed 
representatives of the majesty of the United States 
Government. 

Within two weeks the riotous outbreaks had 
been quelled in all directions, and peace and order 
reigned once more. 

From this time up to 1880 nothing of impor- 
tance occurred involving General Hancock, and his 
course of military duty went on at Governor's Island 
according to the customary routine, varied only by 
such official visits to other localities within his com- 
mand as became necessary, and by his attendance 
on courts of inquiry when appointed by the Presi- 
dent for that duty. 



PART IX. 

POLITICAL— NOMINATION OF GENERAL HANCOCK. 



With the year 1880 opened what may be termed 
the period of the consummation of General Hancock's 
signally important career. We have traced his life 
briefly from its beginning, through the successive 
steps of his boyhood's education, his warlike experi- 
ence, and his enormous and vital responsibilities as 
the commander of a great military district ; we have 
seen him rapidly rising in popularity and achieving 
an enviable reputation as a soldier, a jurist, and a 
statesman ; we may now view him as the recipient 
of the highest honor, save one, possible to be paid to 
a citizen of this country — his nomination by one of 
the two great political parties as its candidate for 
the Presidency of the United States. 

The National Republican Convention, which met 
at Chicago June 2d, held an exciting and protracted 
session, which resulted in the nomination of James 
A. Garfield, of Ohio, for President, and Chester A. 
Arthur, of New York, for Vice-President. This choice 
of candidates by the Republicans was brought about 
by a scandalous bargain on the part of the enemies 
of General Grant in and out of the Convention. Its 
effect has been to induce a wide-spread dissatisfac- 
tion in the ranks of the Republican party, and to 
exasperate the intelligent voters of whatever politi- 
cal bias. It was felt and generally asserted, that 
neither the Republican party as a whole nor the 
American people were prepared to accept as that of 
a possible President of the United States the name 
of a second-rate professional politician ; a man dam. 
aged untterably by well-grounded suspicions of hav- 
ing prostituted a high representative position for 
personal gain and emolument ; and neither could the 



better class of Republican voters calmly reconcile 
themselves to the nomination, for the dignified office 
of Vice-President of the United States and Presi- 
dent of its Senate, of a man who had been igno- 
miniously dismissed from high official position by 
the Republican administration then in power. Ac- 
cordingly, on the announcement of the nominations 
made by the Chicago Convention, tens of thousands 
of voters declared their intention of waiting before 
deciding upon their future political course, until the 
action of the forthcoming Democratic Convention 
should have been concluded. 

DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION. 

The National Democratic Convention met at 
Cincinnati on June 2 2d, under the temporary 
chairmanship of Judge Hoadley, of Cincinnati, who 
was succeeded as permanent chairman by the Hon. 
J. W. Stevenson, of Kentucky. Unlike the vicious 
and conflicting sentiments which pervaded the Re- 
publican Convention, that at Cincinnati, after the 
adjustment of a few slight local differences, was 
harmonious and united. Thorough appreciation of 
the condition of the country and the necessities of 
the party pervaded this intelligent assemblage; it 
was felt, moreover, that the Republicans, in the fos- 
tering and triumph of their bitter and malignant 
enmities, had committed an irretrievable blunder. 
Finally, it was seen that it required on the part of 
the Democracy only to rise above the lower stratum 
of professional politics, in which the dominant party 
were wallowing, to achieve a victory whose value . 
and importance as a force in the reconstruction of 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



29 



the divided and antagonistic sections of this unhappy 
country could not be overestimated. Toward this 
end all concerned lent their best and strongest 
endeavors; and when, on the first ballot, General 
Hancock led the list of candidates, it was felt that 
the hand of Fate pointed out in the person of the 
noble and pure-minded soldier, whose spotless recti- 
tude had never been impeached, the standard-bearer 
under whose leadership the Democracy could over- 
throw, as by a revolution, the party which had for 
so many years battened on corruption and the pro- 
ceeds of a debauched public integrity. The unani- 
mous nomination of Winfield Scott Hancock, on the 
second ballot, offered a fitting commentary on the 
prolonged and tiresome struggle at Chicago. The 
Convention nominated the Hon. W. H. English, 
of Indiana, for Vice-President, and having adopted 
the following platform, adjourned : 



The Democrats of the United States, in Conven- 
tion assembled, declare : 

1. We pledge ourselves anew to the constitu- 
tional doctrines and traditions of the Democratic 
party, as illustrated by the teachings and example of 
a long line of Democratic statesmen and patriots, 
and embodied in the platform of the last National 
Convention of the party. 

2. Opposition to centralization and to that dan- 
gerous spirit of encroachment which tends to con- 
solidate the powers of all the departments in one, 
and thus to create, whatever be the form of govern- 
ment, a real despotism. No sumptuary laws ; sepa- 
ration of Church and State for the good of each ; 
common schools fostered and protected. 

3. Home rule ; honest money, consisting of gold 
and silver, and paper convertible into coin on de- 
mand; the strict maintenance of the public faith. 
State and National ; and a tariff for revenue only. 

4. The subordination of the military to the civil 
power ; and a genuine and thorough reform of the 
Civil Service. 

5. The right to a free ballot is a right preserva- 
tive of all rights, and must and shall be maintained 
in every part of the United States. 

6. The existing Administration is the represen- 
tative of conspiracy only, and its claim of right to 
surround the ballot-boxes with troops and deputy 
marshals, to intimidate and obstruct the election, 
and the unprecedented use of the veto to maintain 
its corrupt and despotic powers, insult the people 
and imperil their institutions. 

7. We execrate the course of this Administra- 
tion in making places in the Civil Service a reward 
for political crime, and demand a reform by statute 
which shall make it for ever impossible for a de- 



feated candidate to bribe his way to the seat of a 
usurper by billeting villains upon the people. 

8. The great fraud of ISlQ-'ll, by which, upon 
a false count of the electoral votes of two States, 
the candidate defeated at the polls was declared to 
be President, and, for the first time in American 
history, the will of the people was set aside under a 
threat of military violence, struck a deadly blow at 
our system of representative government. The Dem- 
ocratic party, to preserve the country from the hor- 
rors of a civil war, submitted for the time, in firm 
and patriotic faith that the people would punish 
this crime in 1880. This issue precedes and dwarfs 
every other. It imposes a more sacred duty upon 
the people of the Union than ever addressed the 
consciences of a nation of freemen. 

9. The resolution of Samuel J. Tilden not again 
to be a candidate for the exalted place to which he 
was elected by a majority of his countrymen, and 
from which he was excluded by the leaders of the 
Republican party, is received by the Democrats of 
the United States with deep sensibility, and they 
declare their confidence in his wisdom, patriotism, 
and integrity unshaken by the assaults of the com- 
mon enemy ; and they further assure him that he is 
followed into the retirement he has chosen for him- 
self by the sympathy and respect of his fellow-citi- 
zens, who regard him as one who, by elevating the 
standard of public morality, and adorning and puri- 
fying the public service, merits the lasting gratitude 
of his country and his party. 

10. Free ships and a living chance for American 
commerce on the seas, and on the land no discrimina- 
tion in favor of transportation lines, corporations, 
or monopolies. 

11. Amendment of the Burlingame treaty; no 
more Chinese immigration, except for travel, educa- 
tion, and foreign commerce, and that even carefully 
guarded. 

12. Public money and public credit for public 
purposes solely, and public land for actual settlers. 

13. The Democratic party is the friend of labor 
and the laboring man, and pledges itself to protect 
him alike against the cormorants and the Commune. 

14. We congratulate the country upon the hon- 
esty and thrift of a Democratic Congress which has 
reduced the public expenditures $40,000,000 a year ; 
upon the continuation of prosperity at home and 
the national honor abroad, and, above all, upon the 
promise of such a change in the administration of 
the Government as shall msure us genuine and lasting 
reform in every department of the public service. 

This brief sketch of the proceedings of the Cin- 
cinnati Convention would be more incomplete even 
than the conditions of our space require it to be, 
were we not to include the following eloquent and 



30 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



enthusiastic speech whicli was delivered by that dis- 
tinguished orator, Hon. Daniel Dougheity, of Penn- 
sylvania, on the occasion of his naming General 
Hancock before the Convention : 

SPEECH OF HON. DANIEL DOUGHERTr. 

" Mr. Chairman : I propose to present to tbe 
thoughtful consideration of the Convention the name 
of one, who, on the field of battle was styled ' The 
Superb,' yet won a still nobler renown as a military 
governor ; whose first act, when in command of Lou- 
isiana and Texas, was to salute the Constitution by 
proclaiming that ' the military rule shall ever be 
subservient to the civil power.' The plighted word 
of a soldier was proved by the acts of a statesman. 

" I nominate one whose name will suppress all 
faction ; which will be alike acceptable to the North 
and to the South ; a name that will thriil^ythe Re- 
public ; a name, if nominated, of a man who will 
crush the last embers of sectional strife, and whose 
nomination will be the dawning of that day so long 
looked for, the day of perpetual brotherhood among 
the people of America. 

" With him as our champion, we can fling away 
our shields and wage an aggressive war. With 
him, we can appeal to the supreme majesty of the 
American people against the corruptions of the 
Republican party, and their untold violations of con- 
stitutional liberty. With him as our standard-bearer, 
the bloody banner of Republicanism will fall palsied 
to the ground. my countrymen ! in this supreme 
hour, when the destinies of the Republic, when the 
imperiled liberties of the people are in your hands, 
pause, reflect, take heed, make no mistake ! I say 
I nominate one whose nomination would carry every 
State of the South. I nominate one who will carry 
Pennsylvania, carry Indiana, carry Connecticut, car- 
ry New Jersey, carry New York. I propose the 
name — [A Voice, " Carry Ohio "] — Ay, carry Ohio — 
I propose the name of the soldier-statesman whose 
record is as stainless as his sword — Winfield Scott 
Hancock ! 

" One word more : if elected, he ivill take his 
seat ! " 

On July 13th, General Hancock's formal notifica- 
tion of his nomination at the hands of the Demo- 
cratic Convention occurred at Governor's Island. 
Under date of July 29th, General Hancock signified 
his acceptance of the nomination in the following 
communication : 

LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 

"Goveenor'8 Island. 
" New York Citt, July 29, 18S0. 

" Gentlemen : I have the honor to acknowledge 
the receipt of your letter of July 13, 1880, appris- 



ing me formally of my nomination to the office 
of President of the United States by the National 
Democratic Convention, lately assembled in Cincin- 
nati. I accept the nomination with grateful appre- 
ciation of the confidence reposed in me. 

" The principles enunciated by the Convention 
are those I have cherished in the past and shall en- 
deavor to maintain in the future. 

"The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Ffteenth 
Amendments to the Constitution of the United 
States, embodying the results of the War for the 
Union, are inviolable. If called to the Presidency, 
I should deem it my duty to resist with all my power 
any attempt to impair or evade the full force and 
effect of the Constitution, which, in every article, 
section, and amendment, is the supreme law of the 
land. The Constitution forms the basis of the Gov- 
ernment of the United States. The powers granted 
by it to the legislative, executive, and judicial de- 
partments define and limit the authority of the 
General Government. Powers not delegated to the 
United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by 
it to the States, belong to the States respectively, or 
to the people. The General and State Governments, 
each acting in its own sphere without trenching upon 
the lawful jurisdiction of the other, constitute the 
Union. This Union, comprising a General Govei'n- 
ment with general powers, and State governments 
with State powers for purposes local to the States, 
is a policy the foundations of which were laid in 
the profoundest wisdom. 

" This is the Union our fathers made, and which 
has been so respected abroad and so beneficent at 
home. Tried by blood and fire, it stands to-day a 
model form of free popular government — a political 
system which, rightly administered, has been and 
will continue to be the admiration of the world. 
May we not say, nearly in the words of Washington : 
The ' unity of government which constitutes us one 
people is justly dear to us ; it is the main pillar in 
the edifice of our real independence, the support of 
our peace, safety, and prosperity, and of that liberty 
we so highly prize and intend at every hazard to 
preserve ? ' 

" But no form of government, however carefully 
devised, no principles, however sound, will protect 
the rights of the people unless its administration is 
faithful and efficient. It is a vital principle in our 
system that neither fraud nor force must be allowed 
to subvert the rights of the people. When fraud, 
violence, or incompetence controls, the noblest con- 
stitutions and wisest laws are useless. The bayonet 
is not a fit instrument for collecting the votes of 
freemen. It is only by a full vote, free ballot, and 
fair count that the people can rule in fact, as re- 
quired by the theory of our government. Take this 
foundation away, and the whole structure falls. 



LIFE OF WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 



31 



" Public office is a trust, not a bounty bestowed 
upon the holder ; no incompetent or dishonest per- 
sons should ever be intrusted with it, or, if appointed, 
they should be promptly ejected. The basis of a 
substantial, practical civil-service reform must first 
be established by the people in filling the elective 
offices ; if they fix a high standard of qualifications 
for office, and sternly reject the corrupt and incom- 
petent, the result will be decisive in governing the 
action of the servants whom they intrust with ap- 
pointing power. 

" The war for the Union was successfully closed 
more than fifteen years ago. All classes of our 
people must share alike in the blessings of the 
Union,. and are equally concerned in its perpetuity 
and in the proper administration of public affairs. 
We are in a state of profound peace. Henceforth 
let it be our purpose to cultivate sentiments of 
friendship and not of animosity among our fellow- 
citizens. 

" Our material interests, varied and progressive, 
demand our constant and united efforts. A sedu- 
lous and scrupulous care of the public credit, to- 
gether with a wise and economical management of 
our governmental expenditures, should be maintained 
in order that labor may be lightly burdened, and 
that all persons may be protected in their rights to 
the fruits of their own industry. The time has come 
to enjoy the substantial benefits of reconciliation. 
As one people, we have common interests. Let us 
encourage the harmony and generous rivalry among 
our own industries which will revive our languish- 
ing merchant marine, extend our commerce with for- 
eign nations, assist our merchants, manufacturers, 
and producers to develop our vast natural resources, 
and increase the prosperity and happiness of our 
people. 



" If elected, I shall, with the Divine favor, labor 
with what ability I possess to discharge my duties 
with fidelity, according to my convictions, and shall 
take care to protect and defend the Union, and to 
see that the laws be faithfully and equally executed 
in all parts of the country alike. I will assume the 
responsibility, fully sensible of the fact that to ad- 
minister rightly the functions of government is to 
discharge the most sacred duty that can devolve 
upon an American citizen. 

" I am, very respectfully, yours, 

"WiNFiELD S. Hancock. 
" To the Eon. John W. Stevenson, President of the Con- 
vention ; Hon. John P. Stockton, Chairman, and 
others of the Committee of the National Democratic 
Convention.'''' 

The nomination of General Hancock and his ac- 
ceptance supply precisely the occasion for the ex- 
isting and impending " change of heart " of those 
voters in the Republican party who can not con- 
sistently support the ticket presented to them for 
their acceptance by the Convention at Chicago. The 
multitude who waited for Cincinnati before decid- 
ing, have long ere this concluded to sustain that 
ticket against which no subversive criticism can be 
flung; and, regardless of a prostituted party alle- 
giance, have determined to add their voices to those 
of the Democracy, for the sustenance of law, order, 
and the integrity of the Union. To those whose 
judgment is yet undecided, and whose intentions 
waver in the balance, this little book is offered, 
with the hope that its feeble attempt to present 
justly before the American people the character and 
career of its hero may aid some little in effecting 
the complete restoration of our country, through the 
election to the Presidential chair, of Winfield Scott 
Hancock. 



In preparing this work tlie autiiors iiave liad full access to the papers, 
records, reports, etc., of General Hancock ; and it is published 
with his consent and approval as an authentic and reliable history 
of his personal, political, and nfiilitary career. 



THE LIFE 

OF 

LD SCOTT HANCOCK, 

Major- General United States Army. 

By Rev. D. X. JUNKIN, D. D., 

Late Chaplain United Slates Navy ; 

AND 

FRANK H. NORTON, 

Formerly Assistant Librarian Astor Library. 



*♦♦ 



This memoir of Winfield Scott Hancock is founded on an extended biography, compiled 
by the late Rev. D. X. Junkin, D. D,, an eminent Presbyterian minister. Dr. Junkin was 
engaged during many years in the preparation of — what was to him a labor of love — the life 
of his hero, and his standard of excellence; the life of a man who, to his mind, represented 
all that is noble, wise, and generous in human nature. Esteeming General Hancock above all 
other men, he confidently believed, up to the day of his death, that the American people 
would eventually pay just tribute to the statesmanlike qualities, the stanch integrity, the 
magnanimity, and the patriotism of his hero by elevating him to the highest executive posi- 
tion within their gift. Dr. Junkin died in April, 1880, respected and lamented. 

In undertaking the revision, condensation, and completion of Dr. Junkin's voluminous and 
comprehensive material, the undersigned has been aided by having free access to all the ne- 
cessary documents, including the official reports of General Hancock. He desires to recognize 
in this place the value of the information afforded him and the aid rendered by Colonel and 
Brevet Brigadier-General W. G. Mitchell, of General Hancock's staff, for eighteen years the 
General's principal aide-de-camp, and at present his close and valued friend. 

It has been the conscientious intention and scrupulous effort of the undersigned, in per- 
forming his responsible duty in connection with this work, to present to its readers such an 
account of its distinguished subject as should best convey the means for a just estimate of 
General Hancock's profound and varied nature, and of the vivid and important attitude which 
he sustains as a prominent figure in American history. 

General Hancock's single-minded patriotism, his deep sense of the duty of man to his 
brother man, his contempt for the employment of narrow, vicious, and degraded methods to 
sustain selfishness and illegitimate ambition, his remarkably acute and just perception of the 
relations of things, his comprehensive aceuraulation of knowledge, and the natural wisdom 
which has rendered his ability and his knowledge valuable to his fellow countrymen — these 
are some of the qualities and characteristics which have been made prominent in the acts and 
life of General Hancock, and which this biography has sought to render evident. 

Feank H. Noeton. 

The book makes a handsome 12rao of 412 pages, illustrated, with a fine portrait on steel 
from a photograph by Sarony, and nine spirited battle-scenes by A. R. '^aud, the celebrated 
artist, who was with General Hancock in his most important battles, and also with diagrams 
of battle-grounds. Price, $1.50. 

The public are cautioned against the clap-trap, so-called "Lives of General Hancock," 
mostly made up from newspaper cuttings, and not at all reliable. The intelligent agent can 
judge very quickly, on examination, which is the best, and all friends of General Hancock will 

'■C3-ET THE BEST." 

I). APPLET ON & CO., Publishers, 1,3, & 5 Bond Street, N'eio York. 
*»* Agents wanted in evert town to sell the above book. 







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